North Korea executed pregnant woman for pointing at founder's portrait: Report

North Korea News: Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of homosexuals, religious persons and North Koreans who tried to flee the country.

North Korea committed horrific human rights violations including the execution of a six-month pregnant woman who pointed at the portrait of Kim Il-sung, the country's founder. An extensive South Korean report which has been publicised for the first time, Kim Jong-un is said to have ordered the execution of homosexuals, religious persons and North Koreans who tried to flee the country.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the ruling Workers Party at its headquarters in Pyongyang, (AP)

The report was released by South Korea's Unification Ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs. The 450-page report includes testimony collected from 2017 to 2022 from more than 500 North Koreans who fled their country.

"North Korean citizens' right to life appears to be greatly threatened," the ministry said in the report.

“Executions are widely carried out for acts that do not justify the death penalty, including drug crimes, distribution of South Korean videos, and religious and superstitious activities,” it added.

The report detailed the violent actions of the North Korean regime saying that the pregnant woman was killed after a video showed her pointing at a portrait of the late Kim Il-sung while she was dancing in her home. The report also said that six teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were executed by shooting.

The teens were charged over watching video footage originating from South Korea and smoking opium at a stadium. Human experiments were also conducted on North Koreans, the report said.

Officials also blackmailed families and forced them to make their relatives human test subjects in medical trials, it added. North Korea also forced nurses to write up “a list of dwarfs” and conducted hysterectomies on a woman with dwarfism, the report added.