Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK)

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) was created in 2001 by a group of foreign policy and human rights specialists in response to reports of ongoing, systematic human rights abuses in North Korea. It seeks to promote human rights in North Korea through expert research and advocacy.

The current North Korean regime is known for its vast system of political prisons and labor camps. It is believed that as many as 120,000 people are now imprisoned in North Korea without due process, under inhumane conditions, and for political reasons. An estimated 400,000 have died in the camps. The regime’s range of other abuses include its denial of equal access to food and goods, the plight of refugees fleeing to China, and acts of infanticide against the new-born children of inmates.

Due to our well documented studies, HRNK has built a reputation and plays a leading role in a growing international network of human rights, humanitarian aid, and policy organizations dedicated to exposing the repression of North Korea’s totalitarian regime to the world. We believe that, with access to the truth and reliable information, all actors involved in North Korea can bring about change to the country.