Examine individual changes

'Willy {{Human Rights in North Korea}} '''North Korean prison camps''' have conditions that are unsanitary, life-threatening and are comparable to historical [[hi dick internment|concentration camps]]. A significant number of prisoners 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 <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 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 prisoners, even 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=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/29/world/main4555614.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_4555614 |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> 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 (Haggard & Noland, 2012). 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 (Haggard & Noland, 2012). 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 prisoners 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> [[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 prisoners, 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. 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: Inside North Korea, aired on the History Channel in 2006, accessed on Netflix July 22, 2011</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> ==Internment camps for political prisoners== {{location map+|North Korea|caption = Political prison camps in North Korea| float=right|width=|places= {{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Pukchang concentration camp|Pukchang]]| position=bottom|lat=39.446164|long=126.163223 <!--exact position is lat=39.546164,long=126.063223, slightly shifted for better visibility --> |region=KP-02}} {{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Chongjin concentration camp|Chongjin]]| position=left|lat=41.833486|long=129.725597|region=KP-09}} {{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Hoeryong concentration camp|Hoeryong]]| position=left|lat=42.537967|long=129.935517|region=KP-09}} {{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Hwasong concentration camp|Hwasong]]| position=left|lat=41.268505|long=129.391211|region=KP-09}} {{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=[[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong]]| position=left|lat=42.9|long=129.9|region=KP-09}} {{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok]]|position=right|lat=39.674163|long=126.851406|region=KP-08}}}} [[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]].]] {{Main|Kwalliso}} The internment camps for people accused of political offences or denounced as politically unreliable are run by the [[Ministry of State Security (North Korea)|State Security Department]]. Reports from refugees also indicate any religious activity is considered illegal; offenders are often arrested and sent to political prison camps. Refugees reported arrests and disappearances for owning bibles (US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2008). Political prisoners were historically subject to the family responsibility principle, where immediate family members of a convicted political criminal were also regarded as political criminals and interned. However, since 1994 there has been a near-abandonment of this family responsibility principle.<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&nbsp;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> It has been estimated that a quarter of a million people remain as political prisoners, one-third of that being children, where they are routinely forced into slave labor, tortured, and raped. According to satellite imagery as well as defector testimony, to include prison guards, these human rights violations continue unabated (Park, 2013). According to former guards who have defected from North Korea, in the event of the Kim Family Regime collapse or other North Korea crisis, they were ordered to kill all political prisoners. The immediate kill of approximately 120,000 North Korean political prisoners would be genocide (Collins, 2017). 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). The internment camps are located in central and northeastern North Korea. They comprise many prison labour colonies in secluded mountain valleys, completely isolated from the outside world. The total number of prisoners is estimated to be 150,000 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 in lifelong detention, another part similar to re-education camps with prisoners sentenced to long-term imprisonment of 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 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> Moreover, many prisoners are crippled from work accidents, frostbite or torture. There is a rigid punishment regime in the camps. Prisoners who work too slowly or do not obey an order 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 of stealing food or attempting to escape, the prisoners are publicly executed. Initially there were around twelve political prison camps, but some were merged or closed (e. g. [[Onsong concentration camp|Onsong prison camp]], Kwan-li-so No. 12, following a suppressed riot with around 5000 dead people in 1987<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071017123327/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212110038.html "5000 Prisoners Massacred at Onsong Concentration Camp in 1987", Chosun Ilbo, December 11, 2002]</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&nbsp;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> 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 consequences from the North Korean government, repatriated the North Korean refugees back to their country. The North Korean border police often tortured North Koreans that were forcibly repatriated, although the government at the time stated the repatriated citizens would be treated fairly. If it was determined 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) (US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2008). === Camps === {| class="wikitable" | '''Political Prison Camp''' | '''Official Name''' | '''Location''' | '''Prisoners''' | '''Comments''' | '''Current Status''' |- |[[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|| Currently 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 {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</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|| Currently 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|| || Currently open |- |[[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. |- |[[Hoeryong concentration camp|Hoeryong Political Prison Camp]] || Kwan-li-so No. 22 ||[[Hoeryong]], [[North Hamgyong]]||align=right|50,000|| Ahn Myong-chol testimony|| Currently closed since 2012 |- |[[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 |} === 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://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/07/world/la-fg-north-korea-gulags8-2010apr08 |title="North Korea gulag spurs a mission", Los Angeles Times, April&nbsp;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 == {{location map+|North Korea|caption = Reeducation camps in North Korea <br />(13 out of around 15 - 25)|float=right|width=|places= {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kaechon concentration camp|Kaechon]]|position=bottom| lat=39.708276 <!--exact position of the camp --> | long=125.923276|region=KP-02}} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chongori concentration camp|Chongori]]|position=left| lat=42.209925 <!--exact position of the camp --> | long=129.753658|region=KP-09}} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sinuiju concentration camp|Sinuiju]]| position=right | lat=40.06138 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=124.410145|region=KP-03 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tongrim concentration camp|Tongrim]]| position=right |lat=39.877580 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=124.729600|region=KP-02}} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Sariwon concentration camp|Sariwon]]| position=right |lat=38.512614 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=125.774053|region=KP-04}} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Wonsan concentration camp|Wonsan]]| position=right |lat=39.157350 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=127.364378|region=KP-05}} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Kangdong concentration camp|Kangdong]] | position=right | lat=39.0087801 <!-- exact position of the camp --> | long=126.1536884|region=KP-01 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Tanchon concentration camp|Tanchon]]| position=left | lat=40.9 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=128.8|region=KP-08 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Oro concentration camp|Oro]] | 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 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=129.8|region=KP-09 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Hamhung concentration camp|Hamhung]] | position=right | lat=39.9 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=127.53|region=KP-08 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Chungsan concentration camp|Chungsan]] | position=bottom | lat=39.1 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=125.37|region=KP-02 }} {{location map~|North Korea|label= [[Ryongdam concentration camp|Ryongdam]] | position=right | lat=39.36 <!-- approximate position of the place --> | long=127.26|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&nbsp;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. 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 (Powell et al., 2006).{{full citation needed|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"/> 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> === Camps === {| class="wikitable" | '''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 web|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|url-status=live|website=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>https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Hawk_The_Parallel_Gulag_Web.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>|| 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 |- |[[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 |- |[[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 |- |[[Kanggye concentration camp|Kanggye Reeducation camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 7 ||[[Kanggye]], [[Chagang Province|Chagang]]||align=right|Unknown|| || Currently open |- |[[Ryongdam concentration camp|Ryongdam Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 8 ||[[Chonnae County]], [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwon]]||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 |- |[[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 |- |[[Chongori concentration camp|Chongori Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 12 ||[[Hoeryong]], [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]]||align=right|2,000|| Many [[North Korean defectors|repatriated defectors]] || Currently open |- |[[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]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 55 || [[Chonma County|Ch'ŏnma]], [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]]||align=right|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 Reeducation Camp]] || Kyo-hwa-so No. 77 ||[[Tanchon]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]]||align=right|6,000|| Said to have been closed around 1997|| Most likely closed |- |[[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 it may have been 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 |} [[Onsong concentration camp|Kwan-li-so # 12 Onsong]] was closed in 1987, following a riot which was suppressed at the cost of around 6,000 dead prisoners. [[Sunghori concentration camp|Kyo-hwa-so Sunghori]] was closed in 1991 but was reopened at a new location on an unknown date. === 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&nbsp;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 based charity, Helping Hands Korea (Powell et al., 2006). =="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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2055301/revealed-prison-where-north-korean-dictators-send-troublesome |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]] |date=December 18, 2016 |first=Julian |last=Ryall |title=Revealed: prison where North Korean dictators send troublesome relatives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218221425/http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2055301/revealed-prison-where-north-korean-dictators-send-troublesome |archive-date=December 18, 2016}}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|North Korea}} * [[Human rights in North Korea]] * [[Mass killings under communist regimes]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==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 *[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 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120426032452/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Survey_Report_on_Political_Prisoners_Camp_in_North_Korea_.pdf 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 *[http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/c8880e0f-f6ed-4585-8f09-4e4b6d11e698/north-korea-a-case-to-answer-a-call-to-act.pdf 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 * [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 * {{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}}（Japanese） {{Prisons in Asia}} [[Category:Prisons in North Korea| ]] [[Category:Concentration camps in North Korea|*]] [[Category:Penal system in North Korea]] [[Category:Repatriation]]'