Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in North Korea may or may not face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. As one of the most secretive and reclusive states in the world little is known for certain about the experiences of LGBT persons in North Korea. Though there does not seem to be any specific legislation against homosexuality, the subject is believed to be highly taboo within the country.
Criminal laws
It is difficult to definitively know what the legal status is for LGBT North Koreans. The official government statement is as follows:
"Due to tradition in Korean culture, it is not customary for individuals of any sexual orientation to engage in public displays of affection. As a country that has embraced science and rationalism, the DPRK recognizes that many individuals are born with homosexuality as a genetic trait and treats them with due respect. Homosexuals in the DPRK have never been subject to repression, as in many capitalist regimes around the world. However, North Koreans also place a lot of emphasis on social harmony and morals. Therefore, the DPRK rejects many characteristics of the popular gay culture in the West, which many perceive to embrace consumerism, classism and promiscuity."
This would seem to suggest that homosexuality per se is not illegal, but public displays of affection, gay-themed clubs, gay-rights activism or sexual promiscuity are probably all frowned upon, if not illegal.
It is unclear what the age of consent, if any, for homosexual activity is. Article 153 of the criminal law states that a man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 15 shall be "punished gravely," but the law is unclear about the age of consent for boys or for same-sex sexual activity.
There is also a vaguely worded law that the government can use to punish anything that is deemed to be "against the socialist lifestyle" that could be used to harass or discriminate against LGBT people.
Family law
North Korea does not recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnership benefits. Most North Koreans face strong social pressure to marry a suitable person of the opposite sex, with the government rarely allowing for divorce.
Censorship
The North Korean governments censors all forms of the press, publication, communication and other forms of mass media. North Koreans who have since defected have stated that homosexuality is not talked about publicly, and that most gay North Koreans are pressured to marry someone of the opposite sex. Voice of America's Korean Service noted that homosexuality is a forbidden topic to discuss in the nation.
Gender identity
It is unclear what the North Korean's governments policy is with regards to transsexuals or crossdressers. However, traditional gender roles are strongly prompted by the government as part of the "socialist lifestyle."
Politics
No political party or organization is permitted to exist, without formal approval by the government. Neither of the two permitted, government run political parties have made any sort of formal statement on LGBT-rights. No laws are known to exist to address sexual orientation or gender identity based discrimination or harassment.
In the 1960s, the North Korean government sent workers to Cuba as a sign of solidarity, most of whom were charged with homosexuality by the Castro government and shipped back to North Korea.
North Korea opposed both the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, which called for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality, and the exclusion of sexual orientation as discriminatory grounds for execution. Its precise reasons for doing so remain unclear.
Kim Jong-chul, the 27-year-old middle son of Kim Jong-il, was deemed to be too effeminate to rule the nation, leading to some unofficial speculation about his sexual orientation.
North Korean propaganda has occasionally portrayed homosexuality as a characteristic of western (and particularly American) moral degeneracy. In the short story "Snowstorm in Pyongyang", captured crewmen of the USS Pueblo implore their North Korean captors to allow them to engage in gay sex.
AIDS/HIV issues
Officially, the government claims that AIDS has not reached North Korea. The government has permitted some United Nations NGOs to educate health care workers about the pandemic, but it would seem that no public discussion of the pandemic is permitted.
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