The United States has issued an annual report on the status of international religious freedom, noting that the situation in North Korea has "not fundamentally changed" over the past decade.

In the 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom released Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said multiple sources have indicated there has not been a fundamental change since publication of the 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry(COI) report on the North's human rights.

The 2014 report found that authorities almost completely denied the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and determined the government, in many instances, committed violations of human rights that constituted crimes against humanity.

It said the North Korean regime reportedly continued to execute, torture, arrest and physically abuse individuals for their religious activities, and that the U.S. raised concerns to other governments, particularly those with diplomatic ties with the North.

On the status of religious freedom in South Korea, the latest report noted issues surrounding alternative military service for conscientious objectors and opposition by some residents in the southeastern city of Daegu over construction of a mosque.