Korea Future, 2nd Report on North Korean Detention Facilities
In-depth Interviews with Victims... "Widespread Human Rights Violations Including Torture"
Over 900 Perpetrators Identified... Selective Sanctions Needed
#. A woman in her 30s, Ms. A, affiliated with the Choson Socialist Women's Union (a labor organization for women over 30 in North Korea), was arrested in China at two months pregnant and repatriated to North Korea. The authorities arbitrarily detained Ms. A while moving her between three facilities and eventually charged her with illegally crossing the border. During this process, Ms. A suffered torture and was even forcibly aborted at a hospital in Kyongwon County, North Hamgyong Province. She was eight months pregnant at the time. Afterwards, Ms. A was sentenced to three years of "re-education" and taken to Jeonggeori Re-education Camp.
#. Mr. B, a man in his 40s who was active as a member of the Workers' Party, was actually involved in helping residents cross into China to defect from North Korea or smuggling goods from China into North Korea. After being tracked by State Security Department agents, he was detained for 18 months at the People's Security Detention Center in Hyesan City, Yanggang Province, and then transferred to a "re-education" camp in Kaechon City, South Pyongan Province following a formal trial. During this time, prison guards subjected him to various tortures and withheld food, causing his weight to drop from 60 kg to 37 kg in just one month.
Torture and Rape in North Korean Detention Facilities... At Least 7,200 Cases Identified
A report documenting human rights abuses occurring in North Korean detention facilities has been released.
Korea Future, a UK-based North Korean human rights organization, published its second report on human rights violations within North Korean detention facilities on the 24th. This report is based on interviews with 269 North Korean defectors conducted from March 2021 to October of last year, identifying perpetrators, victims, characteristics of detention facilities, and the number of human rights violations.
This report updates the database from the first report published by Korea Future in March last year, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on North Korean human rights this year.
According to the report, Korea Future has identified over 7,200 cases of human rights abuses such as torture, forced labor, and rape occurring in North Korean detention facilities from 1991 to the present. The documented victims number 1,156, perpetrators 919, and 206 detention facilities with known locations.
When categorized by type of human rights violation, the most frequent were violations depriving rights to health and medical care, including hygiene and nutrition issues, totaling 1,589 cases. Cases depriving freedom of expression numbered 1,353, followed by torture and inhumane treatment at 1,187 cases. Female victims (816) outnumbered male victims (331) by more than twice.
"Responsibility Lies with the North Korean Workers' Party... Targeted Sanctions Needed Against Identified Perpetrators"
The perpetrators’ affiliations were overwhelmingly from two major institutions: 502 from the People’s Security Agency (currently the Ministry of Social Security), equivalent to South Korea’s National Police Agency, and 321 from the State Security Department, which oversees forced labor camps.
Detention facilities were most concentrated in North Hamgyong Province with 99 locations, followed by Yanggang Province (50), South Hamgyong Province (20), South Pyongan Province (9), North Pyongan Province (8), Jagang Province (6), Kangwon Province (4), South Hwanghae Province (3), Pyongyang (3), North Hwanghae Province (3), and Rason City (1).
The report emphasizes that the investigation confirms the Workers' Party as the ultimate state authority responsible for the torture committed in North Korean detention facilities. Furthermore, through in-depth interviews with victims, a 3D model of the detention facilities was created and presented, asserting that "prisoners held in ordinary detention facilities in North Korea are exposed to levels of torture and inhumane treatment similar to those in political prison camps, and therefore should be considered political prisoners."
Kim Ji-won, an investigator at Korea Future, stated, "While widespread and systematic human rights abuses continue in North Korea, meaningful accountability for the victims remains elusive. There is a need for selective sanctions targeting key perpetrators identified through Korea Future’s investigative activities."
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