Country assessmentResearch confidence: Low · Evidence coverage: Standard

North Korea · 2026

North Korea

The public cannot access the global internet, independent expression is prohibited, communications are monitored, and no independent remedy exists.

Finding Scorecard Evidence Sources

Assessment windowJanuary 1–December 31, 2025

Research cutoffJuly 17, 2026

FrameworkMethodology v0.3 · 20 indicators

Territory coverageDemocratic People's Republic of Korea

Finding

Why North Korea received this score.

The public cannot access the global internet, independent expression is prohibited, communications are monitored, and no independent remedy exists.

The score draws on country reporting, network measurements, shutdown records, journalist cases, privacy law, and rule-of-law data. The indicator findings below show how that evidence was converted into points. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Overall score1.8

Closed

This is the weighted total of the four scored pillars.

Highest pillar5.0

Privacy, Anonymity & User Security

Identity, retention, localization, or lawful-access mandates materially restrict anonymous communication.

Lowest pillar0.0

Free Expression & Civic Space

Independent political expression and civic organizing face systematic state repression.

Evidence record8

Standard coverage

8 cited sources support this assessment.

Scored assessment

Indicator scores.

Each indicator receives 0–4 points. Five indicators form a pillar. The pillar average is converted to a percentage and multiplied by its published weight.

30% weight

Open Internet & Content Controls

Centralized controls sustain nationwide filtering of political information, platforms, or circumvention tools.

2.50.8 / 30 points

B1Shutdowns and throttling0.5 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: DSP's 2025 shutdown-practice estimate 1/4; social-media shutdown estimate 0/4; OONI measurements and the Access Now shutdown record provide the incident check. [2][3][4]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's B1 evidence supports 0.5/4. Only narrow residual protection remains.

B2Website and service blocking0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and private discussion 0/4; DSP's 2025 political-filtering estimate 0/4; the country OONI dashboard supplies direct network measurements. [3][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's B2 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

B3Removal and filtering orders0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and private discussion 0/4; DSP's 2025 political-content censorship estimate 0/4; online-speech legal protection 0/4. [2][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's B3 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

B4Intermediary liability0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4; DSP's online-speech legal protection estimate 0/4; protection against legal abuse by political elites 0/4. [2][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's B4 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

B5Circumvention and cross-border access0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and private discussion 0/4; DSP's political-filtering estimate 0/4; independence from state-controlled social platforms 0/4; OONI and Freedom House records provide the circumvention check. [3][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's B5 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

30% weight

Free Expression & Civic Space

Independent political expression and civic organizing face systematic state repression.

0.00.0 / 30 points

C1Legal protection for expression0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and private discussion 0/4; DSP's online-speech legal protection estimate 0/4; the relevant Freedom House country score 3/100. [1][7]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's C1 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

C2Speech-related offenses0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and due process 0/4; DSP's protection against abuse of defamation and copyright law 0/4; Freedom House country reporting supplies the offense and enforcement record. [2][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's C2 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

C3Arrests and penalties0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded due process 0/4 and equal treatment under law 0/4; DSP's 2025 political-arrest estimate 0/3; CPJ and Freedom House records provide the documented case check. [2][5][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's C3 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

C4Harassment, violence, and digital attacks0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and equal treatment under law 0/4; the 2026 RSF press-freedom score 12.7/100; CPJ and Freedom House reporting provide the violence, harassment, and accountability record. [5][8][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's C4 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

C5Civic participation and pluralism0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded political choice free from domination 0/4 and assembly freedom 0/4; DSP's online-media pluralism estimate 0/4; ordinary people's online civic-mobilization estimate 0/4. [2][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's C5 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

20% weight

Privacy, Anonymity & User Security

Identity, retention, localization, or lawful-access mandates materially restrict anonymous communication.

5.01.0 / 20 points

D1Data protection rights0.5 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: DSP's privacy-law existence measure 0/1; Identity, retention, localization, or lawful-access mandates materially restrict anonymous communication.. [6][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's D1 evidence supports 0.5/4. Only narrow residual protection remains.

D2Surveillance law and authorization0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded judicial independence 0/4 and due process 0/4; DSP's protection from political social-media monitoring 0/4. [1][7]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's D2 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

D3Retention, access, and identity mandates0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded private discussion 0/4 and due process 0/4; protection from political monitoring 0/4; UNCTAD and Freedom House records provide the retention and identity-law check. [1][6]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's D3 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

D4Targeted surveillance and spyware0.5 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded media freedom 0/4 and equal treatment under law 0/4; DSP's protection from political monitoring 0/4; the RSF press-freedom environment 12.7/100; CPJ and Freedom House reporting provide the targeted-surveillance case record. [5][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's D4 evidence supports 0.5/4. Only narrow residual protection remains.

D5Encryption and anonymity0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded private discussion 0/4; DSP's political-filtering estimate 0/4; protection from political monitoring 0/4; OONI and Freedom House records provide the encryption and anonymity check. [3][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's D5 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

20% weight

Rule of Law & Accountability

No dependable independent remedy constrains political censorship or surveillance in practice.

0.00.0 / 20 points

E1Judicial independence and due process0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded judicial independence 0/4 and due process 0/4. [7][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's E1 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

E2Independent regulators0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded government safeguards against corruption 0/4 and government openness and transparency 0/4. [7][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's E2 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

E3Government transparency0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded government openness and transparency 0/4. [7][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's E3 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

E4Notice, appeal, and remedy0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded judicial independence 0/4 and due process 0/4. [7][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's E4 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

E5Open and multistakeholder policymaking0.0 / 4

Observed record

North Korea: Freedom House's 2025 country scorecard recorded elected officials' authority 0/4 and assembly freedom 0/4; DSP's online civic-mobilization estimate 0/4. [2][1]

Scoring judgment

North Korea's E5 evidence supports 0.0/4. The record matches the zero-point anchor.

Country findings

Findings by pillar.

These are the principal findings for each scored part of the report. The indicator records above provide the supporting detail.

Pillar B

Open Internet & Content Controls

Centralized controls sustain nationwide filtering of political information, platforms, or circumvention tools.

[2][3][4]

Pillar C

Free Expression & Civic Space

Independent political expression and civic organizing face systematic state repression.

[2][5][8]

Pillar D

Privacy, Anonymity & User Security

Identity, retention, localization, or lawful-access mandates materially restrict anonymous communication.

[6][1]

Pillar E

Rule of Law & Accountability

No dependable independent remedy constrains political censorship or surveillance in practice.

[7][1]

Research record

Coverage

Democratic People's Republic of Korea, assessed from January 1 through December 31, 2025.

Evidence

Network measurements, legal and institutional datasets, shutdown records, and documented cases support the findings.

Scoring

Twenty indicators measure content openness, expression, privacy, security, and institutional checks under Methodology v0.3.

Read the full methodology →

Source register

Sources used for this report.

Country reporting, open measurements, and cross-national datasets form the report record.

01
Freedom HouseNorth Korea: Freedom in the World 2025 country report ↗Civil society · 2025 edition
02
Digital Society ProjectDigital Society Project Dataset v8 ↗Independent measurement · 2000–2025 country-year data
03
Open Observatory of Network InterferenceNorth Korea measurement dashboard ↗Independent measurement · Accessed July 17, 2026
04
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalitionInternet Shutdowns in 2025 Annual Report ↗Civil society · March 2026
05
Committee to Protect Journalists2025 journalist prison census and case database ↗Civil society · January 21, 2026
06
UN Trade and DevelopmentData protection and privacy legislation worldwide ↗International organization · Accessed July 17, 2026
07
World Justice ProjectRule of Law Index 2025 ↗Independent measurement · October 28, 2025
08
Reporters Without BordersNorth Korea: World Press Freedom Index 2026 profile ↗Civil society · May 2026