The 2024 report on North Korean human rights released by South Korea’s unification ministry details an ongoing crackdown on cultural imports

A 22-year-old North Korean was publicly executed for watching and sharing South Korean films and music, a new report claims, highlighting Pyongyang’s desperate attempts to stem the flow of outside information and culture.

The case, detailed in the 2024 Report on North Korean Human Rights released by South Korea’s unification ministry on Thursday, compiles testimonies from 649 North Korean defectors.

The 13-member band, whose sales last year were only beaten by Taylor Swift, perform both as a full ensemble and in smaller units

While household names including Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Shania Twain abound on the Glastonbury roster this year, one of the biggest acts on the festival’s main Pyramid Stage might not be so well known in the UK.

But sales of the South Korean boyband Seventeen – which has 13 members – last year surpassed those of every other pop act worldwide bar Taylor Swift.