IndexIntroductionSeparation of Powers in North KoreaRule of Law in North KoreaMedia ControlConclusionIntroduction The "Democratic" People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, is a country that constitutes the northern section of the Korean Peninsula. Pyeongyang is the capital. North Korea's government system is considered centralized and contains only one political party. They describe themselves as a “revolutionary and socialist state”, which has a constitution and the “Ten principles for the establishment of a monolithic ideological system”. This system establishes standards for governance and guidance for North Korean behavior. When referring to the Constitution, there are three main branches of government. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay North Korea is an undemocratic nation, failing to uphold various principles required to be seen as a liberal democracy (Separation of Powers, Control of the Media, and the Rule of Law). An example would be their deliberate abuse of human rights through the government's systematic use of arbitrary arrest and punishment, torture in detention, forced labor and even executions. These methods are used to produce a sense of fear and maintain control over citizens. Separation of Powers in North Korea Looking at its constitution, it would appear that North Korea upholds the democratic principle of separation of powers, however in reality this is not the case, with their government structure containing anything but a separation of powers. The separation of powers is a democratic principle in which the three main bodies of government (legislative, executive, and judiciary) are separated to prevent any one branch from acquiring absolute power. The executive branch of government is a cabinet of officials chosen and fired by the head of state. The legislative branch consists of the Supreme People's Assembly, where campaigns are held only with single candidates and are not competitive. The laws created in the legislative are given to them and are just discussed or changed. There is virtually no separation of powers, resulting in the Supreme Leader having the ability to control all aspects of life. Whether creating and enforcing legislation, or controlling the media, there is absolutely no separation of powers within North Korea. The North Korean Constitution states that there is a clear separation of powers between the three main branches of government. The judicial system does not examine legislation, security forces often interfere with the judiciary, so much so that the outcome of most cases is a foregone conclusion. North Korea is clearly failing to uphold the principle of the rule of law, and numerous cases are known where dissidents are detained without trial or without the help of legal services. There are several ways in which North Korea fails to maintain the separation of powers, the clearest of which is the fact that Kim Jong Un virtually runs all three sections of the government and has complete control over decisions made by the government. Rule of Law in North Korea North Korea fails to uphold the liberal democratic principle of the rule of law due to the great imbalance between the government and citizens. This imbalance is linked to inequalities between citizens and those belonging to the upper classes of society in North Korea. The rule of law is the democratic principle that all people, including the government, should be governed by and abide by the law. There are many examples where thisprinciple is not put into practice. Most people living in North Korea live in extreme poverty. The select few who hold high-ranking positions (e.g. government and party officials, including members of several police and party organizations) change the rules to make life better for themselves and their families. It is a common consensus that North Korean society takes advantage of bribes, one might say that this is the norm for those living in North Korea. Protection from arrest or release from prison could be achieved with the right amount of money. The only case where this might not apply would be when Kim Jon Un himself was involved, as he has everything and more than the everyday North Korean. With this tradition of corruption, the law itself does not come into force. Laws are created to limit people to a set of standards and ideas chosen by a community as a whole. North Korea's legislation is immediately unequal as it favors those in high-ranking classes and social positions, with the addition of constant corruption to circumvent laws initially created to satisfy the desires of the people. Media Control North Korea cannot be considered a liberal country. democracy as it does not guarantee fundamental freedoms to its citizens, one of which is the tightly controlled national media. Media is a broad term that encompasses various forms of media, be it news, entertainment, and other information. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), North Korea ranks last in the world press freedom ranking. This makes them the strictest country in measurement, when it comes to technology and media. North Koreans get all their media from a state organization, whose views revolve around praising the Supreme Leader. In recent times it has become more common for citizens to own a mobile phone, although extensive technical measures have been taken so that the regime can gain almost complete control over all activity on the national intranet. Full Internet access is available only to a small elite in Pyeongyang, the remaining citizens are limited to the country's intranet. In a world where many countries revolve around the Internet and require it to function, North Korea continues to have an extensive monitoring program, which prevents outside information from reaching its citizens, allowing the regime to continually do the scavenging of the North Koreans' brains by making them believe any information. provide them, whether it is news about the international success of their economy or sport, when very often this is false. This restriction on the Internet represents a clear violation of various human rights and freedoms, preventing people from knowing information from other countries, leaving many ignorant and in the dark about what happens outside their homeland. For most of the world, keeping up to date with international current events is the norm, but in North Korea, only information that concerns them is presented. North Korean journalism is taken very seriously by the regime, with an extensive period of training and evaluation. required before being approved as a journalist by the government in power. To become a journalist, you need to graduate from college, after which an ideology exam and a rigorous background check are conducted. The graduate student must then complete a 4-5 year probationary period before being appointed to the job. Journalism is seen as a job in which one must strive to guard, defend and provide support to both the party and its leaders. Quite similar to Internet restrictions, North Korean journalism pivots.