Most North Koreans criticize their government in private, even though such criticism could land them in prison camps or other punishments in the totalitarian nation that tolerates no dissent, a survey showed Wednesday.

According to the survey of 36 North Koreans currently living in the country, 35 of them said that their "family, friends, or neighbors complain or make jokes about the government in private," the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

CSIS commissioned the survey as part of its "Beyond Parallel" project on North Korea. The participants were from various provinces across the North, aged 28-80, and had jobs such as laborer, doctor, homemaker, factory worker, cook and sauna worker.

The think tank did not provide further details, including who conducted the survey and when.

"North Korea is not a free and open society. That all but one of the Beyond Parallel interviewees say people they know complain and makes jokes about the government is an extraordinary number given the gravity with which the regime responds to criticism," CSIS said.

"People who express dissent or criticize the state, even if unintentionally, are subject to harsh punishments and detention, often punished without trial," it said.

The think tank said that past surveys of North Korean defectors have also shown similar results, but its survey is more meaningful as it involved those currently living in the country.

"One can therefore reasonably assume that defectors would have a more negative or critical disposition toward the government.

However, the Beyond Parallel finding that the overwhelming majority of respondents still living in North Korea also make jokes at the government's expense, is another thing altogether," it said. (Yonhap)