Prisons in North Korea

Pukchang

Chongjin

Hoeryong

Hwasong

Kaechon

Onsong

Yodok

Political prison camps in North Korea

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

The internment camps for people accused of political offences or denounced as politically unreliable are run by the State Security Department. 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.[18][19]

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.[20] Yodok camp and 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 with the vague hope of eventual release.

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.[21]

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.[22] 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 prison camp, Kwan-li-so No. 12, following a suppressed riot with around 5000 dead people in 1987[23]). Today there are six political prison camps in North Korea, with the size determined from satellite images[24] and the number of prisoners estimated by former prisoners.[25] Most of the camps are documented in testimonies of former prisoners and, for all of them, coordinates and satellite images are available.

Kaechon

Chongori

Sinuiju

Tongrim

Sariwon

Wonsan

Kangdong

Tanchon

Oro

Hoeryong

Hamhung

Chungsan

Ryongdam

Reeducation camps in North Korea
(13 out of around 15 - 25)

The reeducation camps for criminals are run by the Ministry of People's 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[29]) 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.[30] Due to the dire prison conditions with hunger and torture,[31] a large percentage of prisoners do not survive their sentence terms.

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.[15]

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.[32]

There are around 15 to 25 reeducation camps in North Korea.[33][34]

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.[37]

• Human rights in North Korea
• Mass killings under communist regimes

• Committee for Human Rights in North Korea: The Hidden Gulag – Exposing Crimes against Humanity in North Korea’s Vast Prison System - Overview of North Korean prison camps with testimonies and satellite photographs
• Amnesty International: North Korea: Political Prison Camps - Document on conditions in North Korean prison camps
• Freedom House: Concentrations of inhumanity – 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