North Korea

ND – MPE: 1.6

White cites estimates for the number of people killed by the North Korean dictatorship after the Korean War, which range from 1.7 to 3 million. 0.4 to 2 million were directly killed or perished in labor camps.

The Wikipedia-article “North Korean Famine” cites plausible estimates for famine deaths in North Korea, which range from 0.2 to 3 million. The article notes that the most sophisticated study concludes that plausible estimates range from 0.6 to 1 million. It is not clear however, how many of the famine victims died because of devastating floods, government mistakes or government crimes. I could not find strong evidence that the government kept forcing misguided policies on the population even though the regime leadership was aware of the consequences. I think that the regime needs to be blamed for 15 to 85 percent of the famine deaths. I choose 50 percent as the most plausible estimate.

Plausible estimates for the total number of people killed by the regime in North Korea range from 0.5 to 3.3 million. I choose 1.6 million as the most plausible estimate.