Head of UN rights office in Seoul says North Korea has never been more closed

31 October 2026

James Heenan, who heads the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul, told UN News in an interview published on 31 October that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is more cut off than at any point in its history. His team watches the country from outside and has interviewed about 1,000 people; the UN and aid agencies have had no access for five or six years. He said almost no one can enter and people cannot leave, even illegally. Heenan described forced labour that reaches the whole population, including shock brigades and schoolchildren sent to the fields. More than 20 types of smartphones are now sold there, but without internet access, and they may make surveillance easier. He also urged progress on reunions of separated Korean families, which last took place in 2018.