Article 10, paragraph 1 of the ICCPR stipulates that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”
This provision applies to those who are deprived of liberty by the laws and authority of the State Parties and held in prisons, hospitals (particularly psychiatric hospitals), detention camps, correctional institutions or other facilities.81 Article 10, paragraph 1 of the ICCPR supplements the ban on torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment specified in Article 7 of the ICCPR, by imposing on the State Parties an active obligation towards persons who are vulnerable as their liberty is deprived.82 Therefore, persons deprived of their liberty shall not be treated in any way contrary to Article 7 of the ICCPR or be subject to any hardships or pressure other than that which results from the deprivation of liberty. Persons deprived of their liberty must have their dignity respected under the same conditions as those of free persons and must enjoy all the rights set forth in the ICCPR, subject to the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed environment.83
UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment, No. 21 (1992), para. 2.
Ibid., para. 3.
Ibid.
(1) Situation in Detention Facilities
In North Korea, there are several types of detention facility, including prison camps (kyohwaso), labor training camps (rodongdanryundae), holding centers (jipkyulso) and detention centers (guryujang), and political prison camps (kwanliso). Political prison camps (kwanliso) will be examined in V. Major Issues, 1.
Political Prison Camps (Kwanliso) as these camps are different in nature than other detention facilities.
(A) Prison Camps (Kyohwaso)
Prison camps (kyohwaso) are correctional facilities of the MPS Corrections Bureau that is directly under the State Affairs Commission (hereinafter SAC) and are a place for detaining those who have been sentenced to correctional labor punishment by courts.84 Based on the testimonies of North Korean defectors and
The North Korean Criminal Law stipulates that correctional labor punishment is to detain criminals in prison camps (kyohwaso) and have them engage in labor and is divided into unlimited-term correctional labor punishment and limited-term correctional labor punishment (Article 30). The current North Korean Criminal Law imposes unlimited-term correctional labor punishment for a total of eight crimes (i.e., conspiracy to overturn the state, terrorism, treason against the fatherland, clandestine destruction, treason against the people, illegal cultivation of opium and manufacturing of narcotics, smuggling and trafficking of narcotics and premeditated murder) (Articles 60, 61, 63, 65, 68, 206, 208 and 266). For most general crimes, limited-term correctional labor punishment is imposed. The term of limited-term correctional labor punishment is from one to 15 years. Even when crimes are merged or prison terms are combined, the total term cannot exceed 15 years, and one day of detention before the rendition of judgment is counted as one day of limited-term correctional labor punishment (Article 30). During the term of unlimited-term correctional labor punishment and limited-term correctional labor punishment, the rights of citizens are partially suspended (Article 30).
satellite images, it was identified that there are a total of 19 prison camps (kyohwaso) that are operated in North Korea as of 2015, as can be seen in <Figure II-1>.85
FigureⅡ-1 Location of Prison Camps (Kyohwaso)
Testimonies were collected from North Korean defectors on the situations in Jeongeori Kyohwaso and Gaecheon Kyohwaso. The prevalence of testimonies from these two sites is due to defectors who were forcibly repatriated to North Korea being detained mostly in Jeongeori Kyohwaso and Gaecheon Kyohwaso after being sentenced to correctional labor punishment for illegal border-crossing86 as specified in North Korean Criminal Law.
Dong-ho Han et al., Prison Camps in North Korea (Seoul: KINU, 2015), p. 12.
Article 221 of the North Korean Criminal Law stipulates that people convicted of illegal border-crossing shall be sentenced to one year or less of labor training punishment, and where the offence is extremely serious, such people shall be sentenced to five years or less of correctional labor punishment.
• Jeongeori Kyohwaso
Jeongeori Kyohwaso is a prison camp (kyohwaso) under the authority of the MPS provincial bureau in North Hamgyeong Province and is located in Musan-ri, Hoeryong, North Hamgyeong Province (42.2103 degrees north latitude and 129.7536 degrees east longitude).
FigureⅡ-2 Satellite View of Jeongeori Kyohwaso
Jeongeori Kyohwaso manages convicted prisoners by dividing them into sections numbered 1 to 5. Convicted male prisoners are placed in Sections No. 1, 2, 4, and 5, while convicted female prisoners are assigned to Section No. 3.87 Each section is divided again into units. According to testimonies, Section No. 1 has around 12 units, Sections No. 2 and 3 around 10 units, Section No. 4 around four units and Section No. 5 around three units.88 Many
NKHR2013000046 2013-03-05 and many other testimonies.
NKHR2012000185 2012-09-11.
North Korean defectors who had been detained in Jeongeori Kyohwaso are female, and their testimonies enabled a more detailed examination of Section No. 3, which is the female detention facility.
According to the testimonies, there are three prison staff for Section No. 3, including the head of the section, a secretary and a doctor, and three female guards.89 The section is divided into a potato unit, a vegetable unit, a bean unit, a corn unit, a rock collection unit, a wig/eyelash unit, a firewood unit, an animal husbandry unit, a cooking unit and an undernourished unit.90 <Figure II-3> shows the inside of the physical structure of Section No. 3 at Jeongeori Kyohwaso, which has been reconstructed based on testimonies.91
FigureⅡ-3 Inside Jeongeori Kyohwaso, Section 3
NKHR2014000048 2014-05-13.
NKHR2011000248 2011-12-20; NKHR2014000048 2014-05-13.
NKHR2014000031 2014-04-15; NKHR2014000040 2014-04-29; NKHR2015000036 2015-02-10.
• Gaecheon Kyohwaso
Gaecheon Kyohwaso is one of the prison camps (kyohwaso) under the MPS provincial bureau in South Pyeongan Province and is located in Yaksu-dong, Gaecheon, South Pyeongan Province (39.7083 degrees north latitude and 125.9233 degrees east longitude).
FigureⅡ-4 Satellite View of Gaecheon Kyohwaso
Gaecheon Kyohwaso is divided into male and female sections.
The female section is again divided into unlimited-term and limited-term zones in which prisoners sentenced to unlimited-term correctional labor punishment and those sentenced to limited-term correctional labor punishment are detained, respectively.92 Areas for those sentenced to unlimited-term and limited-term correctional labor punishment are in separate buildings.93 Given that convicted
NKHR2014000175 2013-10-21; NKHR2015000186 2015-12-15.
Above testimonies.
female prisoners sentenced to unlimited-term correctional labor punishment are detained here, Gaecheon Kyohwaso seems to be a detention facility for criminals charged with serious crimes.
According to testimonies, the female prisoners at Gaecheon Kyohwaso are divided into various units such as a farming unit, a livestock unit, a knitting unit, a vegetable unit, a fruit unit and a plowing unit.94 A North Korean defector testified that the prisoners belonging to the farming, livestock and fruit units lived in single-story houses assigned to each unit, while those belonging to the knitting unit lived in a two-story building near the guards’
building. According to the testifier, the knitting unit is comprised of those who are sentenced to unlimited-term correctional labor punishment and those with a higher risk of escaping, including those convicted of illegal border-crossing and human trafficking.95 According to a North Korean defector who was imprisoned in Gaecheon Kyohwaso from 2011 to 2013, re-offenders are placed in the vegetable unit for high-intensity work.96 Testifiers said that convicted male prisoners at Gaecheon Kyohwaso work in brick units and leather units (making shoes, belts, holsters, military boots and loafers) or mine coal at nearby coal mines.97 A male defector in his 30s who was once detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso
NKHR2013000156 2013-08-20.
NKHR2013000121 2013-06-25; NKHR2016000014 2016-01-26.
NKHR2017000130 2017-12-18.
NKHR2013000115 2013-06-11; NKHR2013000195 2013-10-29.
in 2015 testified that those with a short prison term, meaning those with a low flight risk, are assigned to mining work.98
(B) Labor Training Camps (Rodongdanryundae)
Labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) are where those sentenced to labor training punishment (from six months to one year) by the court or those sentenced to re-educational labor discipline (from five days to six months) as an administrative penalty by people’s security institutions, etc. are detained. It has been found that those sentenced to labor training punishment are detained in labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) under the jurisdiction of the MPS and those sentenced to re-educational labor discipline are detained in city-, county- or district-level labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) under the Labor Mobilization Division of the People’s Committee. There are testimonies about labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) in Wonsan, Gangwon Province, and in Jeungsan County, South Pyeongan Province, being under the jurisdiction of the MPS.99 Testifiers claimed that they were sentenced to labor training punishment and sent to the labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) located in Gaecheon Kyohwaso.100 Therefore, it can be assumed that there is a labor
NKHR2018000034 2018-05-07.
NKHR2014000065 2014-06-03; NKHR2015000121 2015-09-08.
NKHR2016000026 2016-03-08; NKHR2017000005 2017-04-10; NKHR2018000049 2018-06-04; NKHR2018000080 2018-07-30.
training camp (rodongdanryundae) under the control of the MPS inside Gaecheon Kyohwaso. It has also been reported that the military operates its own internal labor training camps (rodongdanryundae).101
(C) Holding Centers (Jipkyulso)
A holding center (jipkyulso) investigates and detains travelers who have left their designated travel area or traveled beyond the authorized duration of travel, homeless children, those whose cases are pending and forcibly repatriated defectors. When a holding center (jipkyulso) sends notification to the MPS city/county branch in charge of the area of residence of a detainee, the MPS branch officers in charge come to the holding center (jipkyulso) and transfer the detainee to his/her area of residence. Holding centers (jipkyulso) under the control of the MPS are located across North Korea and there are holding centers (jipkyulso) operated by the Ministry of State Security in border regions. It has been found that holding centers (jipkyulso) operated by the Ministry of State Security in border regions are for detaining those who attempt to cross the border illegally to defect to China or South Korea.
Moreover, it has been identified that a large number of detainees are confined in small spaces. According to the testimony of a North Korean defector ○○○, when he/she was detained in a Ministry of State Security-run Chongjin Jipkyulso in 2017, 30 people were detained in a space slightly larger than two pyeong.102
NKHR2015000119 2015-09-08.
NKHR2019000075 2019-08-26.
(D) Detention Centers (Guryujang)
Detention centers (guryujang) are where criminal suspects are detained for investigation before trial. According to the North Korean Criminal Procedure Law, investigators and preliminary examination officers of state security institutions are in charge of conducting the investigation and preliminary examination of cases related to crimes against the state and the people. The investigation and preliminary examination of general crimes related to administrative and economic projects, and of general cases arising in the process of legal institutions’ monitoring on the observance and enforcement of laws, are conducted by investigators and preliminary examination officers of prosecutorial institutions, and the investigation and preliminary of other general crimes are conducted by investigators and preliminary examination officers of people’s security institutions (Articles 46 and 48).
Hence, detention centers (guryujang) are divided into MSS detention centers (guryujang) and MPS detention centers (guryujang). The organization of the Ministry of State Security is divided into central-, provincial- and city- or county-level units, and there are detention centers (guryujang) at each level. The MPS is divided into central-, provincial-, city- or county and dong- or ri-level units, and there are detention centers (guryujang) for each level.
(2) Treatment in Detention Facilities
According to the testimonies of North Korean defectors, violence and cruel treatment continue to occur in prison camps (kyohwaso), labor training camps (rodongdanryundae), holding centers (jipkyulso) and detention centers (guryujang) in North Korea, and many detainees suffer from poor nutrition, sanitation and health care. It is found that many detainees die from such inhuman treatment. In the following sections, the use of violence and cruel treatment and the nutritional, sanitary and medical conditions in detention facilities are examined.103
(A) Prison Camps (Kyohwaso)
Violent and cruel treatment in prison camps (kyohwaso) continues to occur. Numerous relevant cases have also been documented in the 2019 survey. A North Korean defector ○○○
who had been detained in a prison camp (kyohwaso) in Hamheung, South Hamgyeong Province in 2016 said that he/she was beaten for three days, which made his/her calves turn black, and the swollen calves were chapped on the third day.104 There are testimonies stating that violence and cruel treatment in prison camps (kyohwaso) have substantially decreased compared to the past. One North Korean defector who had been detained in
See Ⅳ. Vulnerable Groups, 1. Women for sexual violence and forced abortion on women in detention facilities.
NKHR2019000043 2019-07-01.
Gaecheon Kyohwaso two times in 2008 and 2015 testified that compared to what he/she experienced in 2008, there was much less violence and cruel treatment in 2015.105 He/she said that the MPS officers tried not to use violence since they were punished and forced to write self-criticism reports if they used violence against the inmates. The testifier said that this treatment was due to the policy of not infringing upon the human rights of prison camp (kyohwaso) inmates.
TableⅡ-17 Testimonies on Violence and Cruel Treatment in Prison Camps (Kyohwaso)
Testimonies Testifier ID
The testifier, who had been imprisoned in Jeongeori Kyohwaso in 2014, witnessed frequent beatings. Prisoners were kicked by those wearing shoes, and soup bowls were thrown into the faces of prisoners.
NKHR2018000044 2017-07-03 The testifier, who had been imprisoned in Jeongeori Kyohwaso
from April 2014 to March 2015, experienced frequent violence whenever he/she could not work well or comply with the rules. The testifier is still suffering from the aftereffects of violence.
NKHR2016000184 2016-12-13
The testifier, who had been imprisoned in Gaecheon Kyohwaso from August 2014 to July 2015, witnessed inmates beating another inmate after the guard in charge told them to
“educate that one” because he/she did not meet the labor quota.
NKHR2016000114 2016-07-12
When detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso in 2016, it was a routine for the inmates to be trampled on by those wearing shoes and hit with hands or fists. The inmates were punished with starvation or sleep deprivation when they did not follow orders or made mistakes.
NKHR2017000122 2017-11-20
When the testifier was detained in a prison camp (kyohwaso) in Hamheung, South Hamgyeong Province in 2016, correctional officers (gyehowon) beat him/her. The testifier’s calves were beaten for three days, and as a result, the flesh turned black, and the swollen flesh became chapped on the third day.
NKHR2019000043 2019-07-01
NKHR2018000034 2018-05-07.
The nutrition, sanitation and health care inside prison camps (kyohwaso) still appear dire. The aforementioned testifier who had been detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso two times in 2008 and 2015 said that although violence and cruel treatment have decreased significantly, there was no improvement in nutrition, sanitation and health care.106 Meals consisted only of lumps of corn and beans, and thus, inmates were only able to subsist by relying on food brought by their families during visitation.
However, not many inmates had families visiting them while the testifier was there. A North Korean defector ○○○ testified that he/she witnessed two prisoners die from illness while serving their sentences in Hamheung Kyohwaso in 2016. The two prisoners had uterine cancer and spondylitis tuberculosa and died without receiving treatment as the prison camp (kyohwaso) did not provide medical treatment.107 Due to poor nutrition and intensive labor, there were prisoners who suffered from malnutrition or ended up dying.108 There have been many cases reported of inmates found dead, and the prison camps (kyohwaso) handled the disposing of the bodies without notifying their family of the death.
For example, one testifier said that his/her mother, who was detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso, died from illness in December
Above testimony.
NKHR2019000043 2019-07-01.
“North, serious violations of human rights of detainees in prison camps,” Radio Free Asia, 18 June 2019.
2014, and yet, the prison camp (kyohwaso) did not hand over the body to the family but rather disposed of it on its own.109
TableⅡ-18 Testimonies on Poor Nutrition, Sanitation and Health Care in Prison Camps (Kyohwaso)
Testimonies Testifier ID
The testifier, who had been detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso from 2013 to 2014, was given a very small meal portion (migyeolbap) when he/she did not complete the daily assigned work. He/she often had stomach pains after eating a meal made of boiled rotten corn and was so hungry that he/she had to eat mice or insects. Inmates often died of weak health. The prison camp (kyohwaso) incinerated the bodies and did not inform the families of their deaths.
NKHR2017000047 2017-07-03
The testifier, who had been imprisoned in Gaecheon Kyohwaso from August 2014 to July 2015, said that he/she was given just 450 g of corn, a jar of rice and 30 g of beans per day to eat. Eighty percent of the prisoners were weak. Only those who suffered pneumonia, weakness or hepatitis and were close to death were allowed to be hospitalized.
NKHR2016000114 2016-07-12
In December 2014, the testifier’s mother died of illness while being detained in Gaecheon Kyohwaso. The prison camp (kyohwaso) did not hand over the body to the family and disposed of it by itself.
NKHR2018000073 2018-07-30
The testifier had been detained in Jeongeori Kyohwaso from 2015 to August 2016 and saw many cases where inmates died of weak health. The dead bodies were incinerated at Mount Bulmang (Bulmangsan). The incineration facility was so small that the bodies had to be folded up and crammed in.
NKHR2017000047 2017-07-03
In 2016, two prisoners died from illness while serving their sentences in Hamheung Kyohwaso. The two prisoners had uterine cancer and spondylitis tuberculosa and did not receive treatment as the prison camp (kyohwaso) did not provide medical care.
NKHR2019000043 2019-07-01
NKHR2018000073 2018-07-30.
(B) Labor Training Camps (Rodongdanryundae)
Violence and cruel treatment also occur in labor training camps (rodongdanryundae). In the 2019 survey, relevant cases were documented. A North Korean defector ○○○ testified that he/she witnessed officers beating other inmates with clubs in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Ongjin County, South Hwanghae Province in October 2014.110 Meanwhile, there were also testimonies claiming that acts of violence and cruel treatment are decreasing in labor training camps (rodongdanryundae). A North Korean defector who had been detained in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Samjiyeon, Yanggang Province in August 2016 said that the rules in the camp included “one should not violate human rights”, “one should not fight with other inmates”
and “one should not steal from or rob others.”111 According to the testifier, in the labor training camp (rodongdanryundae), harsh verbal exchanges or beating others may constitute a “human rights violation,” and during his/her stay in the camp, he/she experienced no beating nor did he/she hear any profanity. A North Korean defector, who had been detained in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Onsong County, North Hamgyeong Province for two months from March 2015, also testified that the MPS officers in the camp did not beat the inmates as Kim Jong Un had set a ban on violence and corporal punishment.112
NKHR2019000011 2019-04-20.
NKHR2018000129 2018-11-19.
NKHR2018000074 2018-07-30.
TableⅡ-19 Testimonies on Violence and Cruel Treatment in Labor Training Camps (Rodongdanryundae)
Testimonies Testifier ID
In 2014, when the testifier had been detained in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Hoeryong, North Hamgyeong Province, the inmates were not beaten when they made a mistake; rather, they were instructed to run laps around the track.
NKHR2017000093 2017-10-23
The testifier, who had been imprisoned in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Hyesan, Yanggang Province in March 2014, said that he/she was slapped hard in the face for not doing a good job in monitoring work and his/her eardrum was damaged.
NKHR2016000108 2016-07-12
In March 2014, the testifier had been detained at a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Samjiyeon, Yanggang Province. Since a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) is operated for the purpose of training people with labor, those who did not work well were punished and beaten every day.
The elderly were not exempt from such treatment.
NKHR2016000114 2016-07-12
In October 2014, officers beat prisoners with clubs in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Ongjin County, South Hwanghae Province.
NKHR2019000011 2019-04-20 In 2016, the testifier was sentenced to labor training punishment
and sent to the labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) within Gaecheon Kyohwaso. There was no violence or cruel treatment.
NKHR2018000049 2018-06-04 The testifier had been detained in a labor training camp
(rodongdanryundae) in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, from November 2016 to May 2017. Officers swore at him/her when he/she did not do the work well, but there was no beating.
NKHR2017000095 2017-10-23
In addition, the nutrition, sanitation and heath care in labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) still seems dire. A North Korean defector ○○○, who had been detained in a labor training camp (rodongdanryundae) in Samjiyeon, Yanggang Province in August 2016 testified that the camp provided three meals a day, but it was very difficult to endure the hunger as the detainees were only served boiled corn and dried radish soup.113 According to
NKHR2018000129 2018-11-19.