--- description: Human rights investigators in North Korea raise alarm bells over the lives of "wretched" American citizens title: North Korean Human Rights Investigators Find US a 'Living Hell' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202e86a47da53fc4/69868cf01eebf7dfaf370a63/kim-jong-un1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korea Says Life in U.S. Is 'Living Hell'  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2014 12:29 PM CUT  Undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 26, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a shelling drill of an artillery sub-unit under Korean People's Army Unit 681 at undisclosed place in North Korea. Undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 26, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a shelling drill of an artillery sub-unit under Korean People's Army Unit 681 at undisclosed place in North Korea.KNS/AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2014 12:29 PM CUT Two months after the U.N. Human Rights Council [excoriated](http://time.com/7886/north-korean-atrocities-deserve-criminal-investigation-says-u-n/ "undefined") North Korea for “crimes against humanity”, the reclusive kingdom has released its own [analysis](http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201404/news30/2014-0430-23ee.html "undefined") of the “serious human rights situation in the U.S.” [According](http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201404/news30/2014-0430-23ee.html "undefined") to the report, the U.S. is the world’s “worst human rights abuser,” with its citizens trapped in a “living hell.” The report paints a dystopian nightmare of soaring crime rates, enabled by lax gun control laws and rising unemployment, abetted by a rapacious ruling class, and racism spreading under a mysterious law identified as the “citizenship act.” And as his administration heaps abuses on its people, President Obama, the report finds, “indulges himself in luxury almost every day, squandering hundred millions of dollars on his foreign trip in disregard of his people’s wretched life.” The “analysis” was published on a North Korean newswire last week. The U.N.’s Human Rights Council has yet to weigh in. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/89117/north-korea-says-life-in-u-s-is-living-hell/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/89117/north-korea-says-life-in-u-s-is-living-hell/"},"headline":"North Korea Says Life in U.S. Is 'Living Hell'","datePublished":"2014-05-06T12:29:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:40:24.025Z","description":"Investigators in North Korea have released a report detailing the lives of \"wretched\" American citizens and calling the U.S. the \"worst human rights abuser\" just two months after a U.N. council slammed the Hermit Kingdom for \"crimes against humanity\"","url":"https://time.com/89117/north-korea-says-life-in-u-s-is-living-hell/","keywords":["North Korea","abuse","Human Rights","Kim Jong Un"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202e86a47da53fc4/69868cf01eebf7dfaf370a63/kim-jong-un1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202e86a47da53fc4/69868cf01eebf7dfaf370a63/kim-jong-un1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 26, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a shelling drill of an artillery sub-unit under Korean People's Army Unit 681 at undisclosed place in North","caption":"Undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 26, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a shelling drill of an artillery sub-unit under Korean People's Army Unit 681 at undisclosed place in North","creditText":"KNS/AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/89117/north-korea-says-life-in-u-s-is-living-hell/","name":"North Korea Says Life in U.S. Is 'Living Hell'"}}]}] ```