The Human Rights Watch announced that the human rights situation in North Korea has remained dire under the control of Kim Jong-un.
 
In its World Report 2015 released on Thursday the international nongovernmental organization analyzed the human rights conditions of some 90 countries, including North Korea, last year.
 
The report said “tight controls on North Korea’s border with China continued in 2014, further reducing the number of North Koreans able to flee and seek refuge in third countries.”
 
According to the report, “people arrested in North Korea are routinely tortured by officials in the course of interrogations.” It added that common forms of torture include “kicking and slapping, beatings with iron rods or sticks, being forced to remain in stress positions for hours, sleep deprivation, and, for female detainees, sexual abuse and rape.”
 
The report added that the North has increased rotations of its border guards and increased patrols, fences, and the use of security cameras on the Chinese side of the border, making it more difficult for North Koreans to escape.