North Korea: Juche, the Constitution and the Refugee Crisis

Perhaps no other nation which remains under communist rule is more ironic, disturbing and intriguing as that of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (hereinafter ‘DPRK’ or ‘North Korea’). Given the complex intersection between different international legal standards, it is necessary to bring attention to the refugee crisis facing thousands of DPRK citizens who flee their homeland each year. An analysis of the legal system of a nation provides an additional outlook to the views afforded by traditional international studies scholars, who typically apply sociological, economic or political lenses to analyze relationships between agencies and actors, the allocation of resources, or power struggles within different hierarchy systems. Although these frameworks are certainly valid and applicable in coming to an understanding of the DPRK’s horrendous abuses of human rights, identifying what is novel about the North Korean legal system which is based on socialist law is essential and that will help further the comprehension of the intricate relationship between the DPRK constitution and its abuse of human rights. North Korea defines its law as ‘law of the socialist society and national sovereignty that perform a function of the proletarian dictatorship’. Accordingly, it is necessary to keep in mind such a difference in analyzing North Korean laws, for North Korea’s concept of law and its function is quite different from that of other law-governed countries, such as South Korea. Thus, this paper attempts to perform a systematic examination of the constitution of the DPRK, the underlying ideology which continues to legitimize the existence of such a state, and implications as well as solutions regarding the North Korean refugee crisis in China. In doing so, this paper will also incorporate an interdisciplinary approach by applying the lenses of constitutional law, international law, and human rights law to provide a comprehensive view of the North Korean refugee crisis.