Prisons in North Korea: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] --> |
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{{short description|Prisons in North Korea}} |
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{{Human Rights in North Korea}} |
{{Human Rights in North Korea}} |
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'''Prisons in North Korea''' (often referred to by Western media and critics as "North Korean [[gulag]]s") have conditions that are unsanitary, life-threatening and are comparable to historical [[internment|concentration camps]]. A significant number of inmates have died each year,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa24/001/2011/en/|title=North Korea: Political Prison Camps|work=Amnesty International, May 3, 2011|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=World Report 2013 North Korea |work=Human Rights Watch |date=10 January 2013 |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/north-korea?page=1 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930161630/http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/north-korea?page=1 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pillay urges more attention to human rights abuses in North Korea, calls for international inquiry |work=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, January 14, 2013 |url=http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12923&LangID=E |access-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209173351/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12923&LangID=E |archive-date=February 9, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Human Rights Report: Democratic People's Republic of Korea |work=U.S. Department of State |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/135995.htm |access-date=May 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528051712/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/135995.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2010 }}</ref> since they are subject to [[torture]] and [[Inhuman treatment|inhumane treatment]].<ref>{{cite web|title=North Korea: Torture, death penalty and abductions |work=Amnesty International |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA24/003/2009/en |access-date=May 4, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423163924/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA24/003/2009/en |archive-date=April 23, 2010 }}</ref> [[Public execution|Public]] and secret executions of inmates, including children, especially in cases of attempted escape, are commonplace.<ref>{{cite web | title=White paper on human rights in North Korea 2009 (page 74–75)| work=Korea Institute for National Unification| url=http://www.kinu.or.kr/2009/0727/white2009_e.pdf | access-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref> [[Infanticide]]s (and infant killings upon birth)<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Part Four: Racially Motivated Forced Abortion and Infanticide (page 122) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref> also often occur. The mortality rate is exceptionally high, because many prisoners die of [[starvation]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Running Out of the Darkness |work=TIME Magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1186569,00.html |access-date=October 31, 2006 |date=April 24, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061125031918/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1186569%2C00.html |archive-date=November 25, 2006 }}</ref> illnesses,<ref>{{cite news|title=N. Korean Defectors Describe Brutal Abuse |work=The [[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/n-korean-defectors-describe-brutal-abuse/ |access-date=December 16, 2008 |date=October 29, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515144943/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/29/world/main4555614.shtml?source=RSSattr%3DWorld_4555614 |archive-date=May 15, 2009 }}</ref> work accidents, or torture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/11/116_145812.html |title=HRNK, Holocaust museum to work together again N. Korean prison camps |date=7 November 2013 |access-date=2014-02-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212140912/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/11/116_145812.html |archive-date=2013-12-12 }}</ref> |
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During the height of the North Korean famine, the |
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.<ref name=HaggardNoland2012>Haggard & Noland, 2012</ref>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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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 |
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.<ref name=HaggardNoland2012/>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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The [[North Korea|DPRK]] government denies all allegations of [[Human Rights in North Korea|human rights]] violations in prison camps, claiming that this is prohibited by criminal procedure law,<ref>{{cite web|title=Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 7) |work=United Nations Human Rights Council |url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/A_HRC_13_13_PRK_E.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721182559/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/A_HRC_13_13_PRK_E.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> but former prisoners testify that there are completely different rules in the prison camps.<ref>{{cite web|title=Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 8) |work=Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and Korean Bar Association (KBA) |url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/NKHR-KBA_UPR_S06_2009.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721182315/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/NKHR-KBA_UPR_S06_2009.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> The DPRK government has released no information on |
The [[North Korea|DPRK]] government denies all allegations of [[Human Rights in North Korea|human rights]] violations in prison camps, claiming that this is prohibited by criminal procedure law,<ref>{{cite web|title=Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 7) |work=United Nations Human Rights Council |url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/A_HRC_13_13_PRK_E.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721182559/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/A_HRC_13_13_PRK_E.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> but former prisoners testify that there are completely different rules in the prison camps.<ref>{{cite web|title=Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (page 8) |work=Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and Korean Bar Association (KBA) |url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/NKHR-KBA_UPR_S06_2009.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721182315/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session6/KP/NKHR-KBA_UPR_S06_2009.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> The DPRK government has released no information on inmates or prison camps and has not allowed access to any human rights organizations.<ref>{{cite web|title=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 |work=United Nations/Derechos Human Rights |url=http://derechos.org/nizkor/torture/vanboven/prk.html |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906121240/http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/torture/vanboven/prk.html |archive-date=September 6, 2008 }}</ref> According to a North Korean defector, North Korea considered inviting a delegation of the UN Commission on Human Rights to visit the [[Yodok Concentration Camp|Yodok prison camp]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yodok, Prison Camp of Death [죽음의 요덕 수용소] |author=Yi Baek-ryong (Alias) |url=http://nkd.or.kr/news/story/view/381 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603144836/http://nkd.or.kr/news/story/view/381 |archive-date=June 3, 2016 }}</ref> |
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[[Lee Soon Ok|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."<ref name="judiciary.senate.gov">{{cite web|title=Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, North Korean prison camp survivor |work=United States Senate Hearings |url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |access-date=November 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref> Many other former |
[[Lee Soon Ok|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."<ref name="judiciary.senate.gov">{{cite web|title=Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, North Korean prison camp survivor |work=United States Senate Hearings |url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |access-date=November 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref> Many other former inmates, including [[Kang Chol-Hwan|Kang Chol-hwan]] and [[Shin Dong-hyuk (human rights activist)|Shin Dong-hyuk]], gave detailed and consistent testimonies on the human rights crimes in North Korean prison camps. |
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According to the testimony of former camp guard Ahn Myong-chol of [[Camp 22]], the guards are trained to treat the detainees as [[dehumanization|subhumans]]. He gave an account of children in one camp who were fighting over corn retrieved from cow dung.<ref>National Geographic |
According to the testimony of former camp guard Ahn Myong-chol of [[Camp 22]], the guards are trained to treat the detainees as [[dehumanization|subhumans]]. He gave an account of children in one camp who were fighting over corn retrieved from cow dung.<ref>{{cite episode|station=National Geographic|series=Inside North Korea|network=History Channel|date=2006<!--|access-date=July 22, 2011-->|via=Netflix}}</ref> |
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North Korean prison camps are of two types: large internment camps for political prisoners ([[Kwalliso|Kwan-li-so]] in Korean) and reeducation prison camps (Kyo-hwa-so in Korean).<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Kwan-li-so political panel-labor colonies (page 24 - 41), Kyo-hwa-so prison-labor facilities (page 41 - 55) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref> |
North Korean prison camps are of two types: large internment camps for political prisoners ([[Kwalliso|Kwan-li-so]] in Korean) and reeducation prison camps (Kyo-hwa-so in Korean).<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Kwan-li-so political panel-labor colonies (page 24 - 41), Kyo-hwa-so prison-labor facilities (page 41 - 55) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref> |
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{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon]]| position=left|lat=39.571086|long=126.055466|region=KP-02}} |
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon]]| position=left|lat=39.571086|long=126.055466|region=KP-02}} |
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{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong]]| position=left|lat=42.9|long=129.9|region=KP-09}} |
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong]]| position=left|lat=42.9|long=129.9|region=KP-09}} |
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{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok]]|position=right|lat=39.674163|long=126.851406|region=KP-08 |
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok]]|position=right|lat=39.674163|long=126.851406|region=KP-08}} |
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{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Kyongsong concentration camp|Kyongsong]]|position=left|lat=41.58778|long=129.60611|region=LP=KP-08}}}} |
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[[File:Map of the location of political prison camps (kwanliso) and ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso) in North Korea (United Nations, 2014).pdf|thumb|290px|Map of the location of political prison camps ([[Kwalliso|kwanliso]]) and ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso) in North Korea. Map issued in 2014 by the [[Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK]], under the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].]] |
[[File:Map of the location of political prison camps (kwanliso) and ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso) in North Korea (United Nations, 2014).pdf|thumb|290px|Map of the location of political prison camps ([[Kwalliso|kwanliso]]) and ordinary prison camps (kyohwaso) in North Korea. Map issued in 2014 by the [[Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK]], under the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].]] |
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{{Main|Kwalliso}} |
{{Main|Kwalliso}} |
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The internment camps for people who are accused of political offences and people who are accused of being politically unreliable are run by the [[Ministry of State Security (North Korea)|State Security Department]]. |
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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 [[Bible]]s.<ref name=USCommissiononInternationalReligiousFreedom2008>US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2008</ref>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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⚫ | It has been estimated that a quarter of a million people |
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⚫ | 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, in 1994 the family responsibility principle was limited to cases of especially hideous crimes such as writing anti-government graffiti, which represented a substantial improvement by North Korean standards.<ref name=bl-20141013>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-10-13/life-beyond-north-korea-s-gulag |title=The Surprising News From North Korea's Prisons |first=Andrei |last=Lankov |publisher=Bloomberg |date=13 October 2014 |access-date=1 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803131720/https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-10-13/life-beyond-north-korea-s-gulag |archive-date=3 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003855.html |title="Escapee Tells of Horrors in North Korean Prison Camp", Washington Post, December 11, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 11, 2008 |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021181115/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003855.html |archive-date=October 21, 2010 }}</ref> |
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⚫ | According to former guards who have defected from North Korea, in the event of the Kim Family Regime collapse or |
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⚫ | 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 [[rape]]d. According to satellite imagery and the testimonies of defectors, including testimonies by former prison guards, these human rights violations continue unabated.<ref>Park, 2013</ref>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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Based on the North Korean regime, “guilt by association”, three generations of family members related to the accused member are also sent to the same political prison camp (Collins, 2017). |
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⚫ | 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]].<ref name=Collins2007>Collins, 2017</ref>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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⚫ | The internment camps are located in central and northeastern North Korea. They |
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⚫ | 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<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jieun |first1=Kim |title=North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/prison-11202020193824.html |access-date=12 January 2024 |agency=RFA’s Korean Service |date=2020-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131214646/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/prison-11202020193824.html |archive-date=31 Jan 2023 |quote=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.}}</ref> to 200,000.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last=McDonald |first=Mark |title=North Korean Prison Camps Massive and Growing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05korea.html |access-date=May 5, 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505222059/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05korea.html |archive-date=May 5, 2011 }}</ref> [[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok camp]] and [[Pukchang concentration camp|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. |
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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 that the prisoners are constantly on the brink of starvation. In combination with the hard work this leads to huge numbers of prisoners dying. An estimated 40% of prisoners die from malnutrition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |title=Report: Torture, starvation rife in North Korea political prisons |publisher=CNN |date=May 4, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228194113/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |archive-date=December 28, 2014 }}</ref> |
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The prisoners are forced to perform hard and dangerous slave work with primitive means in mining and agriculture. The food rations are very small, causing the prisoners to constantly be 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |title=Report: Torture, starvation rife in North Korea political prisons |publisher=CNN |date=May 4, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228194113/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |archive-date=December 28, 2014 }}</ref> |
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Initially there were around twelve political prison camps, but some were merged or closed (e. |
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.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Torture summary (page 70–72) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref> In cases when one prisoner is accused of stealing food or attempting to escape, the other prisoners are publicly executed. |
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Initially, there were around twelve political prison camps, but some of them were merged or closed (e.g. [[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong prison camp]], Kwan-li-so No. 12, following a suppressed riot with around 5,000 dead people in 1987<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212110038.html|title=5000 Prisoners Massacred at Onsong Concentration Camp in 1987|work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|date=December 11, 2002|access-date=May 8, 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017123327/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212110038.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>). Today there are six political prison camps in North Korea, with the size determined from satellite images<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html |title="North Koreas Hard Labor Camps" with interactive map, Washington Post, July 20, 2009 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 20, 2009 |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919191331/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html |archive-date=September 19, 2010 }}</ref> and the number of prisoners estimated by former prisoners and [[NGO]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Part Three: Kwan-li-so political panel-labor colonies (page 24–41) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Prisons of North Korea |work=U.S Department of State |url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Prisons-of-North-Korea-English.pdf |access-date=June 16, 2021|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415211854/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Prisons-of-North-Korea-English.pdf |archive-date=April 15, 2021 }}</ref> |
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Most of the camps are documented in testimonies of former prisoners and, for all of them, coordinates and satellite images are available. |
Most of the camps are documented in testimonies of former prisoners and, for all of them, coordinates and satellite images are available. |
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=== Repatriation === |
=== Repatriation === |
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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 |
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).<ref name=USCommissiononInternationalReligiousFreedom2008/>{{citation not found|date=January 2023}} |
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=== Camps === |
=== Camps === |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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! '''Political Prison Camp''' |
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! '''Official Name''' |
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! '''Location''' |
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! '''Prisoners''' |
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! '''Comments''' |
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! '''Current Status''' |
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⚫ | |[[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 12 ||[[Onsong]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|15,000<ref>{{Cite web|title=Political Prison Camps in North Korea Today|url=http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=|website=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea|archive-date=2013-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228031922/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf}}</ref>|| Site of a prisoner riot where 5,000 prisoners rioted and either all or only a third were killed|| |
||
|- |
|- |
||
⚫ | |[[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 12 ||[[Onsong]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|15,000<ref>{{Cite web|title=Political Prison Camps in North Korea Today|url=http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=|website=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea|archive-date=2013-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228031922/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf}}</ref>|| Site of a prisoner riot where 5,000 prisoners rioted and either all or only a third were killed.|| Closed since 1989 |
||
⚫ | |[[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 14 ||[[Kaechon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|15,000|| [[Shin Dong-hyuk]] testimony|| Currently open and possibly being expanded<ref>https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/ASA_HRNK_Chmbg_201603_FINAL.pdf |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[ |
|[[Chongsong concentration camp|Chongsong Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 13 ||[[Chongsong|Chongsŏng]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|20,000|| Approximately 20,000 prisoners were relocated after fears that the camp was located too close to the Chinese border.|| Closed since 1990 |
||
|- |
|- |
||
⚫ | |[[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 14 ||[[Kaechon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|15,000|| [[Shin Dong-hyuk]] testimony|| Currently open and possibly being expanded<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bermudez Jr.|first1=Joseph S.|last2=Dinville|first2=Andy|last3=Eley|first3=Mike|date=March 17, 2016|title=North Korea: Chʼonma-bong Restricted Area|publisher=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, AllSource Analysis|url=https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/ASA_HRNK_Chmbg_201603_FINAL.pdf}}</ref> |
||
⚫ | |||
|- |
|||
|[[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 15 ||[[Yodok County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|50,000|| [[Kang Chol-hwan]] testimony|| Closed since 2014 |
|||
|- |
|||
|[[Hwasong concentration camp|Hwasong Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 16 ||[[Myonggan County|Hwasong County]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|20,000||Close proximity to the [[Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site]].|| Currently open |
|||
|- |
|||
|[[Toksong concentration camp|Toksong Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 17 ||[[Toksong|Toksong County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|30,000-40,000|| Approximately 30,000-40,000 prisoners were relocated to help develop a mine in [[Pukchang concentration camp|Kwan-li-so No. 18]].|| Closed since 1984 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Pukchang concentration camp|Pukchang Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 18 ||[[Pukchang County]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|30,000|| Kim Yong testimony|| Either reopened with a new security perimeter or now merged with camp 14. |
|[[Pukchang concentration camp|Pukchang Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 18 ||[[Pukchang County]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|30,000|| Kim Yong testimony|| Either reopened with a new security perimeter or now merged with camp 14. |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[ |
|[[Tanchon Concentration camp|Tanchon concentration camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 19||[[Tanchon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|10,000|| Closed to decrease the amount of prison camps.|| Closed since 1990 |
||
|- |
|||
|[[Tanchon Concentration camp|Tanchon concentration camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 21||[[Tanchon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|10,000|| According 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 concentration camp|Hoeryong Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 22 ||[[Hoeryong]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|50,000|| Ahn Myong-chol testimony|| Closed since 2012 |
|||
|- |
|||
|[[Toksong Concentration camp|Toksong Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 23 ||[[Toksong|Toksong County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|10,000|| All prisoners were released in 1987, with the camp eventually becoming a prison under police control. ||Closed since 1987 |
|||
|- |
|||
|[[Tongsin concentration camp|Tongsin Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 24 ||[[Tongsin County|Tongsin]], [[Chagang Province]]||align=right|17,000|| ||Closed since 1990 |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Chongjin concentration camp|Chongjin Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 25 ||[[Ch'ŏngjin|Chongjin]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|5,000|| [[Jin Gyeong-suk]] was abducted from China and was reportedly taken to camp 25.|| Currently open |
|[[Chongjin concentration camp|Chongjin Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 25 ||[[Ch'ŏngjin|Chongjin]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|5,000|| [[Jin Gyeong-suk]] was abducted from China and was reportedly taken to camp 25.|| Currently open |
||
|- |
|||
|[[Sunghori concentration camp|Sunghori Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 26 ||[[Sungho County|Sŭngho]], [[Pyongyang]]||align=right| || ||Closed since 1991 |
|||
|- |
|||
|[[Chonma concertation camp|Chonma Political Prison Camp]]|| Kwan-li-so No. 27 ||[[Chonma County|Ch'ŏnma]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|15,000|| ||Closed since 1991 |
|||
|} |
|} |
||
=== Accounts === |
=== Accounts === |
||
The South Korean journalist [[Kang Chol-hwan]] is a former prisoner of [[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok Political Prison Camp]] and has written a book, ''[[The Aquariums of Pyongyang]]'', about his time in the camp.<ref>{{cite news|url=https:// |
The South Korean journalist [[Kang Chol-hwan]] is a former prisoner of [[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok Political Prison Camp]] and has written a book, ''[[The Aquariums of Pyongyang]]'', about his time in the camp.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-07-la-fg-north-korea-gulags8-2010apr08-story.html |title="North Korea gulag spurs a mission", Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2010 |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=April 7, 2010 |access-date=August 23, 2010 |first=John M. |last=Glionna |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626012431/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/07/world/la-fg-north-korea-gulags8-2010apr08 |archive-date=June 26, 2010 }}</ref> The South Korean human rights activist [[Shin Dong-hyuk (human rights activist)|Shin Dong-hyuk]] is the only person known to have escaped from [[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon Political Prison Camp]]. He gave an account of his time in the camp.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FZMwoY7DyM&feature=channel |title="North Korean Camps" by Journeyman Pictures TV |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708203215/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FZMwoY7DyM&feature=channel |archive-date=July 8, 2014 }}</ref> |
||
== Reeducation camps == |
== Reeducation camps == |
||
{{location map+|North Korea|caption = Reeducation camps in North Korea <br />( |
{{location map+|North Korea|caption = Reeducation camps in North Korea <br />(18 out of around 30 - 35)|float=right|width=250|places= |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kaechon concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kaechon concentration camp|01]]|position=bottom| lat=39.708276 <!--exact position of the camp --> | long=125.923276|region=KP-02}} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chongori concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chongori concentration camp|12]]|position=left| lat=42.209925 <!--exact position of the camp --> | long=129.753658|region=KP-09}} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sinuiju concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sinuiju concentration camp|03]]| position=right | lat=40.06138 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=124.410145|region=KP-03 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tongrim concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tongrim concentration camp|02]]| position=right |lat=39.877580 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=124.729600|region=KP-02}} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sariwon concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sariwon concentration camp|06]]| position=right |lat=38.512614 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=125.774053|region=KP-04}} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Wonsan concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Wonsan concentration camp|88]]| position=right |lat=39.157350 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=127.364378|region=KP-05}} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kangdong concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kangdong concentration camp|04]] | position=right | lat=39.0087801 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=126.15369|region=KP-01 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tanchon concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tanchon concentration camp|77]]| position=left | lat=40.9 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=128.8|region=KP-08 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Oro concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Oro concentration camp|22]] | position=top | lat=40.02 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=127.46|region=KP-08 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Hoeryong reeducation camp|Hoeryong]] | position=left | lat=42.7 <!-- |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Hoeryong reeducation camp|Hoeryong]] | position=left | lat=42.7 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=129.8|region=KP-09 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Hamhung concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Hamhung concentration camp|09]] | position=right | lat=39.957895 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=127.562786|region=KP-08 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chungsan concentration camp| |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chungsan concentration camp|11]] | position=bottom | lat=39.1 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=125.37|region=KP-02 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[ |
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kangwon concentration camp|05]] | position=left | lat=38.8432 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=127.5597||region=KP-08 }} |
||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sunghori concentration camp|8]] | position=bottom | lat=38.99972 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=125.9764||region=KP-09 }} |
|||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Ryongdam concentration camp|08/10]] | position=right | lat=39.362 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=127.264|region=KP-07 }} |
|||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Cheonma concentration camp|55]] | position=right | lat=40.19861 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=125.0303|region=KP-01 }} |
|||
{{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kanggye concentration camp|07]] | position=right | | lat=40.9677 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=126.5991|region=KP-07 }}}} |
|||
The reeducation camps for criminals are run by the [[Ministry of Social Security (North Korea)|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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |title=United States Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002 |publisher=Judiciary.senate.gov |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref>) and are then condemned in a brief show trial to a long-term prison sentence. |
The reeducation camps for criminals are run by the [[Ministry of Social Security (North Korea)|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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |title=United States Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002 |publisher=Judiciary.senate.gov |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref>) 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9648.html |title=North Korea – The Judiciary |publisher=Country-data.com |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609191029/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9648.html |archive-date=June 9, 2011 }}</ref> Due to the dire prison conditions with hunger and torture,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/sub_list.php?cataId=nk02600 |title=Brutality beyond belief: Crimes against humanity in North Korea |publisher=Daily NK |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724014844/http://www.dailynk.com/english/sub_list.php?cataId=nk02600 |archive-date=July 24, 2010 }}</ref> a large percentage of prisoners do not survive their sentence terms. |
In North Korea, political crimes are greatly varied, from border crossing to any disturbance of the political order, and they are rigorously punished.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9648.html |title=North Korea – The Judiciary |publisher=Country-data.com |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609191029/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9648.html |archive-date=June 9, 2011 }}</ref> Due to the dire prison conditions with hunger and torture,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/sub_list.php?cataId=nk02600 |title=Brutality beyond belief: Crimes against humanity in North Korea |publisher=[[Daily NK]] |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724014844/http://www.dailynk.com/english/sub_list.php?cataId=nk02600 |archive-date=July 24, 2010 }}</ref> 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 |
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.<ref name=Powelletal2006>Powell et al., 2006</ref>{{citation not found|date=April 2022}} |
||
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 concentration camp|Kaechon camp]]) confined for many days in special prison cells, which are too small for them to stand up or lie full-length in.<ref name="judiciary.senate.gov"/> |
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 concentration camp|Kaechon camp]]) confined for many days in special prison cells, which are too small for them to stand up or lie full-length in.<ref name="judiciary.senate.gov"/> |
||
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 |
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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Prisoners in North Korea Today |chapter=6.2.2 Trial, Charge and Sentence (p. 363 – 367) |work=Database Center for North Korean Human Rights |date=July 15, 2011 |url=http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Prisoners_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf |access-date=May 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305151841/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Prisoners_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2014 }}</ref> |
||
There are around 15 to 25 reeducation camps in North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Satellite imagery: Selected North Korean Prison Camp Locations (page 89) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/prison-11202020193824.html | title=North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them }}</ref> |
There are around 15 to 25 reeducation camps in North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Satellite imagery: Selected North Korean Prison Camp Locations (page 89) |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/prison-11202020193824.html | title=North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them }}</ref> |
||
=== Camps === |
=== Camps === |
||
{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable sortable" |
||
! '''Reeducation Camp''' |
|||
! '''Official Name''' |
|||
! '''Location''' |
|||
! '''Prisoners''' |
|||
! '''Comments''' |
|||
! '''Current Status''' |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Kaechon concentration camp|Kaechon Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 1 ||[[Kaechon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|6,000<ref>{{Cite |
|[[Kaechon concentration camp|Kaechon Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 1 ||[[Kaechon]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|6,000<ref name=TheParallelGulag>{{Cite book|title=The Parallel Gulag, North Korea's "An-jeon-bu" Prison Camps|url=https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Hawk_The_Parallel_Gulag_Web.pdf|publisher=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea}}</ref>|| [[Lee Soon-ok]] testimony|| Currently open |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Tongrim concentration camp|Tongrim Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 2 ||[[Tongrim County]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=right|Unknown|| Was listed by the 2011 [[Database Center for North Korean Human Rights|NKDB]] Report, and 2014 & 2016 NKDB KINU listings, but its current status of operation is currently unknown.<ref |
|[[Tongrim concentration camp|Tongrim Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 2 ||[[Tongrim County]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=right|Unknown|| Was listed by the 2011 [[Database Center for North Korean Human Rights|NKDB]] Report, and 2014 & 2016 NKDB KINU listings, but its current status of operation is currently unknown.<ref name=TheParallelGulag/>|| Currently unknown |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Sinuiju concentration camp|Sinuiju Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 3 ||[[Sinuiju]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=right|2,500|| Near Chinese border|| Currently open |
|[[Sinuiju concentration camp|Sinuiju Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 3 ||[[Sinuiju]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=right|2,500|| Near Chinese border|| Currently open |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Kangdong concentration camp|Kangdong Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 4 ||[[Kangdong]], [[Pyongyang]]||align=right|7,000|| {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Pyongyang|| Currently open |
|[[Kangdong concentration camp|Kangdong Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 4 ||[[Kangdong]], [[Pyongyang]]||align=right|7,000|| {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Pyongyang|| Currently open |
||
|- |
|||
|[[Kangwon concentration camp|Kangwon Reeducation Camp]]|| Kyo-hwa-so No. 5 || [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwon]], [[North Korea]]||align=right|Unknown|| Mentioned in the 2014 KINU list of prison camps. No other information is available on Kyo-hwa-so No. 5.|| Currently unknown |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Sariwon concentration camp|Sariwon Reeducation camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 6 ||[[Sariwon]], [[North Hwanghae Province|North Hwanghae]]||align=right|4,000|| Translators Ali Lameda and Jacques Sedillot were imprisoned in this camp until Amnesty International intervened on their behalf for their eventual release from the camp.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}|| Currently open |
|[[Sariwon concentration camp|Sariwon Reeducation camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 6 ||[[Sariwon]], [[North Hwanghae Province|North Hwanghae]]||align=right|4,000|| Translators Ali Lameda and Jacques Sedillot were imprisoned in this camp until Amnesty International intervened on their behalf for their eventual release from the camp.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}|| Currently open |
||
Line 126: | Line 153: | ||
|[[Kanggye concentration camp|Kanggye Reeducation camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 7 ||[[Kanggye]], [[Chagang Province|Chagang]]||align=right|Unknown|| || Currently unknown |
|[[Kanggye concentration camp|Kanggye Reeducation camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 7 ||[[Kanggye]], [[Chagang Province|Chagang]]||align=right|Unknown|| || Currently unknown |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Ryongdam concentration camp|Ryongdam Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 8 ||[[ |
|[[Ryongdam concentration camp|Ryongdam Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 8 ||[[Wonsan]], [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwŏn]]||align=right|3,000|| || Currently open |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Hamhung concentration camp|Hamhung Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 9 ||[[Hamhung]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|500|| Former colonial prison|| Currently open |
|[[Hamhung concentration camp|Hamhung Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 9 ||[[Hamhung]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|500|| Former colonial prison|| Currently open |
||
|- |
|||
|[[Kyo-hwa-so No. 10|Yongdam Reeducation Camp]]|| Kyo-hwa-so No. 10 ||[[Wonsan]], [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwŏn]]|| |Unknown|| The 2014 KINU listing mentions that Kyo-hwa-so No. 10 was absorbed into [[Ryongdam concentration camp|Kyo-hwa-so No. 8]], but there is other information on this camp under this numerical designation.|| Closed |
|||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Chungsan concentration camp|Chungsan Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 11 ||[[Chungsan County]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|3,300|| Many [[North Korean defectors|repatriated defectors]] || Currently open |
|[[Chungsan concentration camp|Chungsan Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 11 ||[[Chungsan County]], [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]]||align=right|3,300|| Many [[North Korean defectors|repatriated defectors]] || Currently open |
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|[[Oro concentration camp|Oro Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 22 ||[[Yonggwang County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|6,000|| Said to have been closed around 2008|| Most likely closed |
|[[Oro concentration camp|Oro Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 22 ||[[Yonggwang County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|6,000|| Said to have been closed around 2008|| Most likely closed |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Cheonma concentration camp|Cheonma Reeducation Camp]] |
|[[Cheonma concentration camp|Cheonma Reeducation Camp]]|| Kyo-hwa-so No. 55 || [[Chonma County|Ch'ŏnma]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=top|Unknown|| Said to have been very overcrowded and most prisoners were sent to Camp No. 77. Its current state of operation is unknown.|| Currently unknown |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Tanchon concentration camp |
|[[Tanchon concentration camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 77 ||[[Tanchon]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|6,000|| Said to have been closed around 1997|| Closed |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Wonsan concentration camp|Wonsan Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 88 ||[[Wonsan]], [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwŏn]]||align=right|Unknown|| || Currently open |
|[[Wonsan concentration camp|Wonsan Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 88 ||[[Wonsan]], [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwŏn]]||align=right|Unknown|| || Currently open |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Hoeryong reeducation camp|Hoeryong Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so ||[[Hoeryong]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|1,500|| This camp may have been subsequently termed by its more precise location and name, Kyo-hwa-so No. 12, or |
|[[Hoeryong reeducation camp|Hoeryong Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so ||[[Hoeryong]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|1,500|| This camp may have been subsequently termed by its more precise location and name, Kyo-hwa-so No. 12, or closed|| Currently unknown |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|[[Sunghori concentration camp|Sunghori Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 8||[[Pyongyang]], [[North Hwanghae Province|North Hwanghae]]||align=right|2,000|| The original Sunghori concentration camp closed and was relocated to its new, current location|| Currently open |
|[[Sunghori concentration camp|Sunghori Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 8||[[Pyongyang]], [[North Hwanghae Province|North Hwanghae]]||align=right|2,000|| The original Sunghori concentration camp closed and was relocated to its new, current location|| Currently open |
||
|} |
|} |
||
[[Sunghori concentration camp|Kyo-hwa-so Sunghori]] was closed in 1991 but was later reopened at a new location on an unknown date. |
|||
=== Accounts === |
=== Accounts === |
||
The South Korean human rights activist [[Lee Soon Ok|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 [[United States Senate|US Senate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |title=US Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002 |publisher=Judiciary.senate.gov |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref> |
The South Korean human rights activist [[Lee Soon Ok|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 [[United States Senate|US Senate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |title=US Senate Hearings: Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee, June 21, 2002 |publisher=Judiciary.senate.gov |access-date=August 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109021741/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 }}</ref> |
||
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 |
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.<ref name=Powelletal2006/>{{citation not found|date=April 2022}} |
||
=="Resort" prison== |
=="Resort" prison== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
||
*[http://hrnk.org/wp-content/uploads/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Final_Web_v4.pdf Committee for Human Rights in North Korea: The Hidden Gulag – Exposing Crimes against Humanity in North Korea’s Vast Prison System]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} - Overview of North Korean prison camps with testimonies and satellite photographs |
|||
*[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa24/001/2011/en/ Amnesty International: North Korea: Political Prison Camps] - Document on conditions in North Korean prison camps |
*[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa24/001/2011/en/ Amnesty International: North Korea: Political Prison Camps] - Document on conditions in North Korean prison camps |
||
*[http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/53.pdf Freedom House: Concentrations of inhumanity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908012506/http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/53.pdf |date=2011-09-08 }} – Analysis of the phenomena of repression associated with North Korea's political labor camps |
*[http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/53.pdf Freedom House: Concentrations of inhumanity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908012506/http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/53.pdf |date=2011-09-08 }} – Analysis of the phenomena of repression associated with North Korea's political labor camps |
||
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* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html Washington Post: North Koreas Hard Labor Camps] - Explore North Korean prison camps with interactive map |
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html Washington Post: North Koreas Hard Labor Camps] - Explore North Korean prison camps with interactive map |
||
* [http://freekorea.us/camps One Free Korea: North Koreas’ Largest Concentration Camps on Google Earth] - Satellite imagery and witness accounts of North Korean political prison and reeducation camps |
* [http://freekorea.us/camps One Free Korea: North Koreas’ Largest Concentration Camps on Google Earth] - Satellite imagery and witness accounts of North Korean political prison and reeducation camps |
||
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fe6h-ktu/topics120221.pdf|title=反人倫犯罪の現場 北朝鮮教化所「第12号 全巨里教化所 編」|website=北朝鮮難民救援基金|date=2020-09-27|accessdate=2021-11-05|publisher=北朝鮮難民救援基金/北韓人権国際活動家メアリ}} |
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fe6h-ktu/topics120221.pdf|script-title=ja:反人倫犯罪の現場 北朝鮮教化所「第12号 全巨里教化所 編」|script-website=ja:北朝鮮難民救援基金|date=2020-09-27|accessdate=2021-11-05|publisher=北朝鮮難民救援基金/北韓人権国際活動家メアリ|language=ja|archive-date=2021-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110225129/http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fe6h-ktu/topics120221.pdf|url-status=dead}} |
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{{Prisons in Asia}} |
{{Prisons in Asia}} |
Latest revision as of 19:56, 29 August 2024
Part of a series on |
Human rights in North Korea |
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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, including 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][citation not found]
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][citation not found]
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
[edit]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][citation not found]
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, in 1994 the family responsibility principle was limited to cases of especially hideous crimes such as writing anti-government graffiti, which represented a substantial improvement by North Korean standards.[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][citation not found]
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][citation not found]
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, causing the prisoners to constantly be 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
[edit]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][citation not found]
Camps
[edit]Political Prison Camp | Official Name | Standort | Prisoners | Kommentare | Current Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kyongsong Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 11 | Kyŏngsŏng County, North Hamgyong | 20,000 | Closed in order to convert the area into a villa for Kim Il Sung. | Closed since 1990 |
Onsong Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 12 | Onsong, North Hamgyong | 15,000[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 Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 13 | Chongsŏng, North Hamgyong | 20,000 | Approximately 20,000 prisoners were relocated after fears that the camp was located too close to the Chinese border. | Closed since 1990 |
Kaechon Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 14 | Kaechon, South Pyongan | 15,000 | Shin Dong-hyuk testimony | Currently open and possibly being expanded[33] |
Yodok Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 15 | Yodok County, South Hamgyong | 50,000 | Kang Chol-hwan testimony | Closed since 2014 |
Hwasong Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 16 | Hwasong County, North Hamgyong | 20,000 | Close proximity to the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. | Currently open |
Toksong Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 17 | Toksong County, South Hamgyong | 30,000-40,000 | Approximately 30,000-40,000 prisoners were relocated to help develop a mine in Kwan-li-so No. 18. | Closed since 1984 |
Pukchang Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 18 | Pukchang County, South Pyongan | 30,000 | Kim Yong testimony | Either reopened with a new security perimeter or now merged with camp 14. |
Tanchon concentration camp | Kwan-li-so No. 19 | Tanchon, South Pyongan | 10,000 | Closed to decrease the amount of prison camps. | Closed since 1990 |
Tanchon concentration camp | Kwan-li-so No. 21 | Tanchon, South Pyongan | 10,000 | According 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 Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 22 | Hoeryong, North Hamgyong | 50,000 | Ahn Myong-chol testimony | Closed since 2012 |
Toksong Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 23 | Toksong County, South Hamgyong | 10,000 | All prisoners were released in 1987, with the camp eventually becoming a prison under police control. | Closed since 1987 |
Tongsin Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 24 | Tongsin, Chagang Province | 17,000 | Closed since 1990 | |
Chongjin Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 25 | Chongjin, North Hamgyong | 5,000 | Jin Gyeong-suk was abducted from China and was reportedly taken to camp 25. | Currently open |
Sunghori Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 26 | Sŭngho, Pyongyang | Closed since 1991 | ||
Chonma Political Prison Camp | Kwan-li-so No. 27 | Ch'ŏnma, North Hamgyong | 15,000 | Closed since 1991 |
Accounts
[edit]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
[edit]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][citation not found]
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
[edit]Reeducation Camp | Official Name | Standort | Prisoners | Kommentare | Current Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaechon Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 1 | Kaechon, South Pyongan | 6,000[43] | Lee Soon-ok testimony | Currently open |
Tongrim Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 2 | Tongrim County, North Pyongan | Unknown | Was 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 Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 3 | Sinuiju, North Pyongan | 2,500 | Near Chinese border | Currently open |
Kangdong Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 4 | Kangdong, Pyongyang | 7,000 | 30 km (19 mi) from Pyongyang | Currently open |
Kangwon Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 5 | Kangwon, North Korea | Unknown | Mentioned in the 2014 KINU list of prison camps. No other information is available on Kyo-hwa-so No. 5. | Currently unknown |
Sariwon Reeducation camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 6 | Sariwon, North Hwanghae | 4,000 | Translators Ali Lameda and Jacques Sedillot were imprisoned in this camp until Amnesty International intervened on their behalf for their eventual release from the camp.[citation needed] | Currently open |
Kanggye Reeducation camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 7 | Kanggye, Chagang | Unknown | Currently unknown | |
Ryongdam Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 8 | Wonsan, Kangwŏn | 3,000 | Currently open | |
Hamhung Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 9 | Hamhung, South Hamgyong | 500 | Former colonial prison | Currently open |
Yongdam Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 10 | Wonsan, Kangwŏn | Unknown | The 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 Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 11 | Chungsan County, South Pyongan | 3,300 | Many repatriated defectors | Currently open |
Chongori Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 12 | Hoeryong, North Hamgyong | 2,000 | Many repatriated defectors | Currently open |
Oro Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 22 | Yonggwang County, South Hamgyong | 6,000 | Said to have been closed around 2008 | Most likely closed |
Cheonma Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 55 | Ch'ŏnma, North Pyongan | Unknown | Said to have been very overcrowded and most prisoners were sent to Camp No. 77. Its current state of operation is unknown. | Currently unknown |
Tanchon concentration camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 77 | Tanchon, South Hamgyong | 6,000 | Said to have been closed around 1997 | Closed |
Wonsan Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 88 | Wonsan, Kangwŏn | Unknown | Currently open | |
Hoeryong Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so | Hoeryong, North Hamgyong | 1,500 | This camp may have been subsequently termed by its more precise location and name, Kyo-hwa-so No. 12, or closed | Currently unknown |
Sunghori Reeducation Camp | Kyo-hwa-so No. 8 | Pyongyang, North Hwanghae | 2,000 | The original Sunghori concentration camp closed and was relocated to its new, current location | Currently open |
Kyo-hwa-so Sunghori was closed in 1991 but was later reopened at a new location on an unknown date.
Accounts
[edit]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][citation not found]
"Resort" prison
[edit]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
[edit]- Human rights in North Korea
- List of concentration and internment camps#Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
- Crimes against humanity under communist regimes
- Mass killings under communist regimes
References
[edit]- ^ "North Korea: Political Prison Camps". Amnesty International, May 3, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- ^ 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) - ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "North Korea: Torture, death penalty and abductions". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ "White paper on human rights in North Korea 2009 (page 74–75)" (PDF). Korea Institute for National Unification. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Running Out of the Darkness". TIME Magazine. April 24, 2006. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved October 31, 2006.
- ^ "N. Korean Defectors Describe Brutal Abuse". The Associated Press. October 29, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Haggard & Noland, 2012
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Yi Baek-ryong (Alias). "Yodok, Prison Camp of Death [죽음의 요덕 수용소]". Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ Inside North Korea. 2006. History Channel. National Geographic – via Netflix.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2008
- ^ 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.
- ^ ""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.
- ^ Park, 2013
- ^ Collins, 2017
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Report: Torture, starvation rife in North Korea political prisons". CNN. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "5000 Prisoners Massacred at Onsong Concentration Camp in 1987". The Chosun Ilbo. December 11, 2002. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- ^ ""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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Prisons of North Korea" (PDF). U.S Department of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
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- ^ a b Powell et al., 2006
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ignored (help) - ^ "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.
- ^ "North Korea Releases 7,000 Prisoners, Orders People to Provide for Them".
- ^ a b The Parallel Gulag, North Korea's "An-jeon-bu" Prison Camps (PDF). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
External links
[edit]- Amnesty International: North Korea: Political Prison Camps - Document on conditions in North Korean prison camps
- Freedom House: Concentrations of inhumanity Archived 2011-09-08 at the Wayback Machine – Analysis of the phenomena of repression associated with North Korea's political labor camps
- National Human Rights Commission of Korea: Survey Report on Political Prisoners’ Camps in North Korea – Overall and systematic analysis of political prison camps on the basis of in-depth interviews with North Korean witnesses
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide: North Korea: A case to answer – a call to act – Report to emphasize the urgent need to mass killings, arbitrary imprisonment, torture and related international crimes
- Washington Post: North Koreas Hard Labor Camps - Explore North Korean prison camps with interactive map
- One Free Korea: North Koreas’ Largest Concentration Camps on Google Earth - Satellite imagery and witness accounts of North Korean political prison and reeducation camps
- 反人倫犯罪の現場 北朝鮮教化所「第12号 全巨里教化所 編」 (PDF). 北朝鮮難民救援基金 (in Japanese). 北朝鮮難民救援基金/北韓人権国際活動家メアリ. 2020-09-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-05.