Prisons in North Korea (often referred to by Western media and critics as "North Korean gulags") have conditions that are unsanitary, life-threatening and are comparable to historical concentration camps. A significant number of inmates have died each year,[1][2][3][4] since they are subject to torture and inhumane treatment.[5] Public and secret executions of inmates, even children, especially in cases of attempted escape, are commonplace.[6] Infanticides (and infant killings upon birth)[7] also often occur. The mortality rate is exceptionally high, because many prisoners die of starvation,[8] illnesses,[9] work accidents, or torture.[10]

During the height of the North Korean famine, the government's response was to set up many low-level labor camps for those who were caught crossing the North Korean-Chinese border or were repatriated from China. These labor training facilities were also used in response to the black market activity that resulted in people searching for food throughout the countryside.[11]

In 2004, these “labor training” facilities were made a regular form of punishment under the new reforms of the criminal code which included a list of economic and social crimes. This list was increased in 2007 with the corresponding punishments growing.[11]

The DPRK government denies all allegations of human rights violations in prison camps, claiming that this is prohibited by criminal procedure law,[12] but former prisoners testify that there are completely different rules in the prison camps.[13] The DPRK government has released no information on inmates or prison camps and has not allowed access to any human rights organizations.[14] According to a North Korean defector, North Korea considered inviting a delegation of the UN Commission on Human Rights to visit the Yodok prison camp in 1996.[15]

Lee Soon-ok gave detailed testimony on her treatment in the North Korean prison system to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 2002. In her statement she said, "I testify that most of the 6,000 prisoners who were there when I arrived in 1987 had quietly perished under the harsh prison conditions by the time I was released in 1992."[16] Many other former inmates, including Kang Chol-hwan and Shin Dong-hyuk, gave detailed and consistent testimonies on the human rights crimes in North Korean prison camps.

According to the testimony of former camp guard Ahn Myong-chol of Camp 22, the guards are trained to treat the detainees as subhumans. He gave an account of children in one camp who were fighting over corn retrieved from cow dung.[17]

North Korean prison camps are of two types: large internment camps for political prisoners (Kwan-li-so in Korean) and reeducation prison camps (Kyo-hwa-so in Korean).[18]

Internment camps for political prisoners

Political prison camps in North Korea
Map of the location of political prison camps (kwanliso) and ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso) in North Korea. Map issued in 2014 by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK, under the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The internment camps for people who are accused of political offences and people who are accused of being politically unreliable are run by the State Security Department. Reports by refugees also indicate that all religious activities are considered illegal; offenders are frequently arrested and sent to political prison camps. Refugees reported that people were subjected to arrests and disappearances for owning Bibles.[19] Political prisoners were historically subjected to the family responsibility principle, in which the immediate family members of convicted political criminals were also regarded as political criminals and interned. However, since 1994, there has been a near-abandonment of the use of the family responsibility principle.[20][21]

It has been estimated that a quarter of a million people are still political prisoners, one-third of them are children, and they are routinely forced to perform slave labor, tortured, and raped. According to satellite imagery and the testimonies of defectors, including testimonies by former prison guards, these human rights violations continue unabated.[22]

According to former guards who have defected from North Korea, in the event of the Kim Family Regime's collapse or in the event of another crisis in North Korea, they were ordered to kill all political prisoners. The immediate murder of approximately 120,000 North Korean political prisoners would constitute a genocide.[23]

The internment camps are located in central and northeastern North Korea. They consist of many prison labour colonies in secluded mountain valleys, completely isolated from the outside world. The total number of prisoners who are incarcerated in the camps is estimated to range from 80,000[24] to 200,000.[25] Yodok camp and Pukchang camp are separated into two sections: One section for political prisoners who are in lifelong detention, another section which is similar to re-education camps with prisoners who are sentenced to long-term imprisonment which ranges from 5 to 20 years.

The prisoners are forced to perform hard and dangerous slave work with primitive means in mining and agriculture. The food rations are very small, so the prisoners are constantly on the brink of starvation. Along with the hard work, the small food rations cause a huge number of the prisoners to die. It is estimated that 40% of the prisoners die from malnutrition.[26]

Moreover, many prisoners are crippled from work accidents, frostbite or torture. Additionally, a rigid punishment regimen exists in the camps. Prisoners who work too slowly and prisoners who do not obey orders are beaten or tortured.[27] In cases when one prisoner is accused of stealing food or attempting to escape, the other prisoners are publicly executed.

Initially, there were around twelve political prison camps, but some of them were merged or closed (e.g. Onsong prison camp, Kwan-li-so No. 12, following a suppressed riot with around 5,000 dead people in 1987[28]). Today there are six political prison camps in North Korea, with the size determined from satellite images[29] and the number of prisoners estimated by former prisoners and NGOs.[30][31] Most of the camps are documented in testimonies of former prisoners and, for all of them, coordinates and satellite images are available.

Repatriation

During the height of the famine in the mid to late 1990s, thousands of North Koreans crossed the border into China in search of food or jobs to support their families back home. The Chinese government, fearful of the North Korean government's response, repatriated the North Korean refugees back to their country. The North Korean border police often tortured North Koreans who were forcibly repatriated, but at the time, the government stated that the repatriated citizens would be treated fairly. If it was determined that those who fled to China had any contact with South Koreans or Protestant Christian organizations, they were sent to labor colonies or gyohwaso (felony-level penitentiaries).[19]

Camps

Political Prison Camp Official Name Location Prisoners Comments Current Status
Kyongsong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 11Kyŏngsŏng County, North Hamgyong20,000Closed in order to convert the area into a villa for Kim Il Sung.Closed since 1990
Onsong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 12Onsong, North Hamgyong15,000[32]Site of a prisoner riot where 5,000 prisoners rioted and either all or only a third were killed.Closed since 1989
Chongsong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 13Chongsŏng, North Hamgyong20,000Approximately 20,000 prisoners were relocated after fears that the camp was located too close to the Chinese border.Closed since 1990
Kaechon Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 14Kaechon, South Pyongan15,000Shin Dong-hyuk testimonyCurrently open and possibly being expanded[33]
Yodok Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 15Yodok County, South Hamgyong50,000Kang Chol-hwan testimonyClosed since 2014
Hwasong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 16Hwasong County, North Hamgyong20,000Close proximity to the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site.Currently open
Toksong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 17Toksong County, South Hamgyong30,000-40,000Approximately 30,000-40,000 prisoners were relocated to help develop a mine in Kwan-li-so No. 18.Closed since 1984
Pukchang Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 18Pukchang County, South Pyongan30,000Kim Yong testimonyEither reopened with a new security perimeter or now merged with camp 14.
Tanchon Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 19Tanchon, South Pyongan10,000Closed to decrease the amount of prison camps.Closed since 1990
Tanchon Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 21Tanchon, South Pyongan10,000According to a report by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea in 2009, the camp was labeled as Camp 21 but its closure and location coincide with Camp 19, meaning they are the same camp.Closed since 1990
Hoeryong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 22Hoeryong, North Hamgyong50,000Ahn Myong-chol testimonyClosed since 2012
Toksong Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 23Toksong County, South Hamgyong10,000All prisoners were released in 1987, with the camp eventually becoming a prison under police control.Closed since 1987
Tongsin Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 24Tongsin, Chagang Province17,000Closed since 1990
Chongjin Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 25Chongjin, North Hamgyong5,000Jin Gyeong-suk was abducted from China and was reportedly taken to camp 25.Currently open
Sunghori Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 26Sŭngho, PyongyangClosed since 1991
Chonma Political Prison CampKwan-li-so No. 27Ch'ŏnma, North Hamgyong15,000Closed since 1991

Accounts

The South Korean journalist Kang Chol-hwan is a former prisoner of Yodok Political Prison Camp and has written a book, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, about his time in the camp.[34] The South Korean human rights activist Shin Dong-hyuk is the only person known to have escaped from Kaechon Political Prison Camp. He gave an account of his time in the camp.[35]

Reeducation camps

Reeducation camps in North Korea
(18 out of around 30 - 35)

The reeducation camps for criminals are run by the Ministry of Social Security. There is a fluent passage between common crimes and political crimes, as people who get on the bad side of influential party members are often denounced on false accusations. They are then forced into false confessions with brutal torture in detention centers (Lee Soon-ok for example had to kneel down whilst being showered with water at icy temperatures with other prisoners, of whom six did not survive[36]) and are then condemned in a brief show trial to a long-term prison sentence.

In North Korea, political crimes are greatly varied, from border crossing to any disturbance of the political order, and they are rigorously punished.[37] Due to the dire prison conditions with hunger and torture,[38] a large percentage of prisoners do not survive their sentence terms.

One account of a North Korean refugee recalls being kicked repeatedly in the stomach by her North Korean guard in an attempt to abort her 5-month-old unborn baby. After losing consciousness during the beatings, she awoke inside the camp's clinic where her baby was forcibly removed.[39]

The reeducation camps are large prison building complexes surrounded by high walls. The situation of prisoners is quite similar to that in the political prison camps. They have to perform slave labour in prison factories and in case they do not meet the work quotas, they are tortured and (at least in Kaechon camp) confined for many days in special prison cells, which are too small for them to stand up or lie full-length in.[16]

To be distinguished from the internment camps for political prisoners, the reeducation camp prisoners are forced to undergo ideological instruction after work and they are also forced to memorize the speeches of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and they even have to undergo self-criticism rites. Many prisoners are guilty of common crimes which are also penalized in other countries e. g. illegal border crossing, stealing food or illegal trading.[40]

There are around 15 to 25 reeducation camps in North Korea.[41][42]

Camps

Reeducation Camp Official Name Location Prisoners Comments Current Status
Kaechon Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 1Kaechon, South Pyongan6,000[43]Lee Soon-ok testimonyCurrently open
Tongrim Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 2Tongrim County, North PyonganUnknownWas listed by the 2011 NKDB Report, and 2014 & 2016 NKDB KINU listings, but its current status of operation is currently unknown.[43]Currently unknown
Sinuiju Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 3Sinuiju, North Pyongan2,500Near Chinese borderCurrently open
Kangdong Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 4Kangdong, Pyongyang7,00030 km (19 mi) from PyongyangCurrently open
Kangwon Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 5Kangwon, North KoreaUnknownMentioned in the 2014 KINU list of prison camps. No other information is available on Kyo-hwa-so No. 5.Currently unknown
Sariwon Reeducation campKyo-hwa-so No. 6Sariwon, North Hwanghae4,000Translators Ali Lameda and Jacques Sedillot were imprisoned in this camp until Amnesty International intervened on their behalf for their eventual release from the camp.Currently open
Kanggye Reeducation campKyo-hwa-so No. 7Kanggye, ChagangUnknownCurrently unknown
Ryongdam Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 8Wonsan, Kangwŏn3,000Currently open
Hamhung Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 9Hamhung, South Hamgyong500Former colonial prisonCurrently open
Yongdam Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 10Wonsan, KangwŏnUnknownThe 2014 KINU listing mentions that Kyo-hwa-so No. 10 was absorbed into Kyo-hwa-so No. 8, but there is other information on this camp under this numerical designation.Closed
Chungsan Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 11Chungsan County, South Pyongan3,300Many repatriated defectorsCurrently open
Chongori Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 12Hoeryong, North Hamgyong2,000Many repatriated defectorsCurrently open
Oro Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 22Yonggwang County, South Hamgyong6,000Said to have been closed around 2008Most likely closed
Cheonma Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 55Ch'ŏnma, North PyonganUnknownSaid to have been very overcrowded and most prisoners were sent to Camp No. 77. Its current state of operation is unknown.Currently unknown
Tanchon Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 77Tanchon, South Hamgyong6,000Said to have been closed around 1997Closed
Wonsan Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 88Wonsan, KangwŏnUnknownCurrently open
Hoeryong Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-soHoeryong, North Hamgyong1,500This camp may have been subsequently termed by its more precise location and name, Kyo-hwa-so No. 12, or closedCurrently unknown
Sunghori Reeducation CampKyo-hwa-so No. 8Pyongyang, North Hwanghae2,000The original Sunghori concentration camp closed and was relocated to its new, current locationCurrently open

Kyo-hwa-so Sunghori was closed in 1991 but was later reopened at a new location on an unknown date.

Accounts

The South Korean human rights activist Lee Soon-ok has written a book (Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman) about her time in the camp and testified before the US Senate.[44]

TIME magazine article, Running out of Darkness, reports on the efforts of Kim Myong-suk to escape a North Korean prison with the help of a South Korean-based charity, Helping Hands Korea.[39]

"Resort" prison

In December 2016, the South China Morning Post reported on the existence of a secret prison in Hyanghari, which is euphemistically known as a 'resort,' where members of the country's political elite are imprisoned.[45]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "North Korea: Political Prison Camps". Amnesty International, May 3, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ World Report 2013 North Korea. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ "Pillay urges more attention to human rights abuses in North Korea, calls for international inquiry". United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, January 14, 2013. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ "2009 Human Rights Report: Democratic People's Republic of Korea". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  5. ↑ "North Korea: Torture, death penalty and abductions". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ "White paper on human rights in North Korea 2009 (page 74–75)" (PDF). Korea Institute for National Unification. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  7. ↑ "The Hidden Gulag – Part Four: Racially Motivated Forced Abortion and Infanticide (page 122)" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Running Out of the Darkness". TIME Magazine. April 24, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved October 31, 2006.
  9. ↑ "N. Korean Defectors Describe Brutal Abuse". The Associated Press. October 29, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  10. ↑ "HRNK, Holocaust museum to work together again N. Korean prison camps". 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  11. 1 2 Haggard & Noland, 2012
  12. ↑ "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 7)" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 8)" (PDF). Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and Korean Bar Association (KBA). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Report by the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Theo van Boven: Democratic People's Republic of Korea". United Nations/Derechos Human Rights. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  15. ↑ Yi Baek-ryong (Alias). "Yodok, Prison Camp of Death [죽음의 요덕 수용소]". Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, North Korean prison camp survivor". United States Senate Hearings. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  17. ↑ Inside North Korea. 2006. History Channel. National Geographic – via Netflix.
  18. ↑ "The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Kwan-li-so political panel-labor colonies (page 24 - 41), Kyo-hwa-so prison-labor facilities (page 41 - 55)" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  19. 1 2 US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2008
  20. ↑ Lankov, Andrei (13 October 2014). "The Surprising News From North Korea's Prisons". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  21. ↑ ""Escapee Tells of Horrors in North Korean Prison Camp", Washington Post, December 11, 2008". The Washington Post. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  22. ↑ Park, 2013
  23. ↑ Collins, 2017
  24. ↑ Jieun, Kim (2020-11-20). "North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them". RFA’s Korean Service. Archived from the original on 31 Jan 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024. According to the U.S. State Department's 2019 human rights report, estimates of the North Korean prison population range between 80,000 and 120,000. This figure includes estimates for political prison camps, the existence of which North Korea denies.
  25. ↑ McDonald, Mark (May 4, 2011). "North Korean Prison Camps Massive and Growing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Report: Torture, starvation rife in North Korea political prisons". CNN. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014.
  27. ↑ "The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Torture summary (page 70–72)" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  28. ↑ "5000 Prisoners Massacred at Onsong Concentration Camp in 1987". Chosun Ilbo. December 11, 2002. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  29. ↑ ""North Koreas Hard Labor Camps" with interactive map, Washington Post, July 20, 2009". The Washington Post. July 20, 2009. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  30. ↑ "The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Kwan-li-so political panel-labor colonies (page 24–41)" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Prisons of North Korea" (PDF). U.S Department of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Political Prison Camps in North Korea Today" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-28.
  33. ↑ Bermudez Jr., Joseph S.; Dinville, Andy; Eley, Mike (March 17, 2016). North Korea: Chʼonma-bong Restricted Area (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, AllSource Analysis.
  34. ↑ Glionna, John M. (April 7, 2010). ""North Korea gulag spurs a mission", Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2010". Articles.latimes.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  35. ↑ ""North Korean Camps" by Journeyman Pictures TV". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  36. ↑ "United States Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002". Judiciary.senate.gov. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  37. ↑ "North Korea – The Judiciary". Country-data.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  38. ↑ "Brutality beyond belief: Crimes against humanity in North Korea". Daily NK. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  39. 1 2 Powell et al., 2006
  40. ↑ "6.2.2 Trial, Charge and Sentence (p. 363 – 367)". Prisoners in North Korea Today (PDF). July 15, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  41. ↑ "The Hidden Gulag – Satellite imagery: Selected North Korean Prison Camp Locations (page 89)" (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  42. ↑ "North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them".
  43. 1 2 The Parallel Gulag, North Korea's "An-jeon-bu" Prison Camps (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
  44. ↑ "US Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002". Judiciary.senate.gov. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  45. ↑ Ryall, Julian (December 18, 2016). "Revealed: prison where North Korean dictators send troublesome relatives". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on December 18, 2016.
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