Article 8 of the Family Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea states that "Marriage may be done only between one man and one woman".
As of 2013, the Korean Friendship Association (an international group sponsored by the government of North Korea) said "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."\8][9]) The same document said North Korea "rejects many characteristics of the popular gay culture in the West, which many perceive to embrace consumerism, classism and promiscuity."\9])
According to the United States Department of State, the state news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), claimed in 2014 that same-sex sexual activity was not present in the country.\4])
In 2008 and 2011, North Korea opposed both the "joint statements on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity" at the United Nations that condemn violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people.\14][)failed verification\) Its precise reasons for doing so remain unclear.\)citation needed\)
In 2014, after the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report on human rights in North Korea advising a referral to the International Criminal Court, the Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean state-owned news agency and arm of Propaganda and Agitation Department, responded with an article that included homophobic insults against the report's author Michael Kirby, who is openly gay. The KCNA's article went on to attack Kirby and gay marriage:\17][18])
... he is a disgusting old lecher with a 40-odd-year-long career of homosexuality. He is now over seventy, but he is still anxious to get married to his homosexual partner.
This practice can never be found in the DPRK boasting of the sound mentality and good morals, and homosexuality has become a target of public criticism even in Western countries, too. In fact, it is ridiculous for such gay [sic] to sponsor dealing with others' human rights issue.
ββKorean Central News Agency (2014)
