in North Korean Prison Camps
Norma Kang Muico
Anti- Slavery International 2007
forced labour
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the many courageous North Koreans who have agreed to be interviewed for this
report and shared with us their often difficult experiences.
We would also like to thank the following individuals and organisations for their input and assistance:
Amnesty International, Baspia, Choi Soon- ho, Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights ( NKHR),
Good Friends, Heo Yejin, Human Rights Watch, Hwang Sun- young, International Crisis Group ( ICG), Mike
Kaye, Kim Soo- am, Kim Tae- jin, Kim Yoon- jung, Korea Institute for National Unification ( KINU), Ministry of
Unification ( MOU), National Human Rights Commission of Korea ( NHRCK), Save the Children UK, Tim
Peters and Sarangbang.
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation
kindly funded the research and production
of this report as well as connected activities
to prompt its recommendations.
Contents
Executive Summary 1
1. Background 2
2. Border Crossing 3
3. Surviving in China 4
Employment 4
Rural Brides 5
4. Forcible Repatriation 6
Police Raids 6
Deportation 8
5. Punishment upon Return 8
Kukga Bowibu ( National Security Agency or NSA) 9
Yeshim ( Preliminary Examination) 10
Living Conditions 13
The Waiting Game 13
6. Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps 14
Nodong Danryundae ( Labour Training Camp) 14
Forced Labour 14
Pregnant Prisoners 17
Re- education 17
Living Conditions 17
Food 18
Medical Care 18
Do Jipkyulso ( Provincial Detention Centre) 19
Forced Labour 19
Living Conditions 21
Inmin Boansung ( People's Safety Agency or PSA) 21
Formal Trials 21
Informal Sentencing 22
Released without Sentence 22
Arbitrary Decisions 22
Kyohwaso ( Re- education Camp) 24
Forced Labour 24
Food 24
Medical Care 25
7. Return to China 25
Reasons for Returning to China 25
Fear of Re- arrest 26
Refugees sur Place 26
8. Conclusion 27
9. Map of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( DPRK) 28
10. Endnotes 29
11. Glossary of Terms 32
12. Case Studies 33
Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
songs, etc.). More than 90 per cent of the
interviewees either witnessed beatings or were
hit themselves while in detention.
Interviewees were also subject to other forms of
degrading treatment and punishment ( e. g. forced
exercise as a form of punishment, being forced to
sit without moving for prolonged periods of time,
being denied access to toilets, public criticism,
etc.).
The overcrowded and unhygienic facilities,
combined with inadequate food, water and
medical care and the arduous nature of the
forced labour that prisoners have to perform
mean that deaths in the labour camps are not
uncommon.
Given the fact that the vast majority of border
crossers are simply trying to exercise their right
to freedom of movement in order to sustain
themselves and their families, Anti- Slavery
International believes that the arrest and
imposition of forced labour on border crossers is
not acceptable under any circumstances.
An analysis of data provided by those
interviewed shows that in 70 per cent of cases,
those arrested received no judicial decision,
formal or otherwise. These unconvicted
detainees were compelled to perform forced
labour for an average of about 50 days, in direct
contravention of international conventions such
as the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Labour
Organization ( ILO) Convention No. 29 concerning
Forced or Compulsory Labour ( Forced Labour
Convention), as well as North Korea's own
domestic standards.
In light of the above, Anti- Slavery International
calls on the North Korean Government to amend
their Criminal Code so that leaving the country
without permission does not constitute a
criminal offence, to take immediate action to
prevent unconvicted detainees from performing
forced labour and to abolish the use of forced
labour in prison camps.
Anti- Slavery International strongly urges the
North Korean Government to invite the UN
Special Rapporteur on North Korea to monitor
human rights conditions in the country and in
particular to carry out a thorough review of
Executive summary
The flow of undocumented North Korean
migrants into China started in the mid- 1990s
and continues today. The great majority of these
migrants are not fleeing political oppression, but
rather food shortages and economic crisis in
North Korea. In the interviews carried out by
Anti- Slavery International for this research 93 per
cent of the North Koreans cite food shortages
and economic hardship as the main factor for
leaving North Korea.
In March 2007, the Government requested
assistance from the World Food Programme
( WFP) to address the issue of food shortages.
The WFP estimated at this time that between
one- third and one- half of North Koreans face a
daily struggle to find enough food to eat. While
food insecurity remains a critical issue, the cross-border
migration of undocumented North
Koreans into China will also continue.
This is an issue of concern to Anti- Slavery
International because those North Koreans who
are caught while crossing the border or who are
deported by the Chinese authorities are subject
to forced labour in North Korean prison camps.
In the course of this research, Anti- Slavery
International interviewed 30 North Koreans, all of
whom were caught border crossing and
imprisoned in North Korea. The majority of the
interviews were with women from the North-eastern
province of North Hamgyeong and most
were incarcerated after 2003. The interviews took
place in Jilin Province, China in the cities of Yanji,
Wangqing and Antu ( January 2007), and Seoul,
South Korea ( February 2005- 2007).
The overwhelming majority had to perform forced
labour while in detention before they were tried
for the crime of border crossing. Most of the
border crossers interviewed for this report
worked 10- 12 hours a day with no rest days.
Forced labour usually takes place on State- run
projects and includes farming, mountain logging,
road works, stone quarrying, brick making, coal
mining and construction.
Prisoners were beaten for various reasons ( e. g.
lying or being suspected of lying, not working
fast enough, forgetting the words to patriotic
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
food and economic crisis hasmeant that this
migratory flow continues despite the grave dangers
posed to those who risk unauthorised travel. 3
Estimates of the number of undocumented North
Korean ' border crossers' living in China vary from
source to source, but there are at least 50,000
North Koreans. 4 The majority settle among the
ethnic Korean communities in the north- eastern
provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, but
recent information suggests that a growing
number of North Korean migrants are dispersing
to other parts of China. 5 Women make up the
great majority of the border crossers due to a
high demand for rural brides6 and opportunities
for work as domestics, nannies, carers or
cleaners. Irrespective of their ties to China, all
undocumented North Koreans - women, men and
children - face arrest and deportation if caught by
the Chinese authorities.
The focus of this report is the recent phenomenon
of the mass migration of undocumented North
Koreans into China and once arrested their
experience of forced labour and other human
rights abuses in North Korean prison camps. In
this report the term ' prison camps' refers to all
detention facilities in North Korea that subject
their prison population to forced labour,
including nodong danryundae ( labour training
camp), do jipkyulso ( provincial detention centre),
kyohwaso ( re- education camp) and kwanliso
( political prison camp). Political prison camps
are not addressed in any detail in this report
because the vast majority of border crossers are
not sent there.
The issue of border crossing is more relevant
than ever, as the North Korean Government
publicly admitted in March 2007 that it is facing
food shortages and has made a plea for
assistance from the World Food Programme
( WFP). 8 According to the WFP, having enough
food to eat is “ still a daily struggle for one- third
to one- half of all North Koreans”. 9 As the food
insecurity and economic hardship of the past 12
years continue, so too will the cross- border
migration of undocumented North Koreans into
China.
In the course of this research, Anti- Slavery
International interviewed 30 North Koreans,
all of whom were caught border crossing and
imprisoned in North Korea. Most were
conditions in prison camps.
Anti- Slavery International is also renewing its call
on the Chinese Government to stop the forcible
repatriation of undocumented North Koreans
from China, to recognise these North Koreans as
refugees sur place and to grant the UNHCR
access to these people in China, so that it can
assess their individual circumstances and seek a
safe and permanent solution to their situation.
1. Background
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( DPRK
or North Korea) has largely mountainous terrain
which is poorly suited to agricultural production,
but following the end of the Korean War ( 1950-
53) its leader, Kim Il Sung, considered self-sufficiency
to be crucial to national security.
Energy- intensive farming methods were
consequently introduced that relied heavily on
chemical fertilisers, pesticides and electricity for
irrigation and these could only be sustained
through subsidised imports from its Cold War
allies.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the
establishment of diplomatic ties with South
Korea by both the Russian and Chinese
Governments in the early 1990s signalled an end
to favourable trade and energy subsidies for the
DPRK. The resulting sharp decline in food
production, coupled with a series of natural
disasters1 and the breakdown of daily food
rations through the government- run Public
Distribution System ( PDS) in 1995, triggered
widespread famine in North Korea.
In 1995, the North Korean Government
acknowledged the crisis by appealing to the
international community for help. Meanwhile, it
actively encouraged its citizens to forage for
alternative food sources such as roots, grasses,
stalks and tree bark, which are poor in nutrition
and lead to severe digestive problems, especially
among children and the elderly. By 1996,
alternative foods accounted for some 30 per cent
of the North Korean diet. 2
The famine prompted an exodus of tens of
thousands of North Koreans into neighbouring
China in search of food and work. The ongoing
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
spoke of additional hardship caused by
illnesses, deaths and family breakdown.
Like tens of thousands of other North Koreans,
the North Koreans interviewed by Anti- Slavery
International fled to China for survival purposes.
China played a key role not just in their own
survival but also in the survival of family
members still living in North Korea. When the
famine was downgraded to a food crisis in the
late 1990s, conditions in North Korea were still
so critical that migration to China continued.
For the vast majority of North Korean border
crossers, the Tumen River is the point of entry
into China. The river serves as a natural frontier
for more than a third of North Korea's 1,300
kilometre border with its Chinese neighbour,
separating China's Jilin Province from North
Korea's North Hamgyeong and Yanggang
provinces. Parts of the river are shallow and
narrow, thus facilitating a short and relatively
easy journey. North Koreans either wade through
it in the warmer months or walk across the ice in
the winter.
At the height of the food and economic crisis in
the late- 1990s, there ensued a mass migration
of undocumented North Koreans into China.
Faced with the fallout of the famine, both the
Chinese and DPRK authorities tolerated the
cross- border movement. In fact, in 1999, North
Korean officials began relaxing the punishment
for border crossing and in a significant departure
from the past, made a clear distinction between
those simply going to China for survival purposes
and those who were more politically motivated
incarcerated since 2003. The interviews took
place in Jilin Province, China in the cities of Yanji,
Wangqing and Antu ( January 2007), and Seoul,
South Korea ( February 2005- 2007).
The majority of the interviews were with women
from the North- eastern province of North
Hamgyeong so the findings of this report should
be considered with this in mind. To protect the
identity of the North Koreans, their names and
some personal details have been omitted.
2. Border Crossing
The flow of undocumented North Korean
migrants - both short and long- term - into China
has continued since the mid- 1990s. The
majority of the migrants are not fleeing political
oppression, but rather food shortages and
economic collapse in their home country. South
Korea's Ministry of Unification ( MOU) survey
shows that over 60 per cent of ' new settlers'
( North Koreans who are now living in South
Korea) who went to China between 2003 and
2006 attribute ' hardship of living' as the prime
motive for crossing the border ( see Table 1). 10
In line with the findings of the MOU survey, 93
per cent of the North Koreans who were
interviewed for this report cite food shortages
and economic hardship as the main push factor
for leaving North Korea. The interviewees shared
similar experiences of hunger and food insecurity
resulting from the collapse of the Public
Distribution System ( PDS) and job losses due to
factory closures. Many of the interviewees also
Year
2003
2004
2005
06/ 2006
Total
Family
feud
53
87
36
24
200
To live
in China
46
12
7
4
69
Hardship
of living
774
1,125
849
543
3,291
Fear of
penalty
80
104
81
39
304
Followed
family
194
401
308
208
1,111
Political
system
123
156
96
19
394
Other
11
9
6
17
43
Total
1,281
1,894
1,383
854
5,412
Table 1: Reasons for leaving North Korea, 2003 to June 2006
Source: Ministry of Unification 2006
3. Surviving in China
Employment
These attempts to deter people from border
crossing do not appear to have had any impact
on the numbers willing to risk severe
punishment by travelling to China.
Although some of the long- term North Korean
migrants in China are men, the great majority are
women. 18 This is understandable given the lack
of work opportunities available to men. Men
tend to travel to China on a short- term basis to
procure food and other supplies before returning
home. Those who remain longer look for cash in
hand jobs as day labourers on farms, construction
sites, mines, quarries or factories. 19 One 27-
year- old man from Musan, for example, was paid
70 yuan ( US$ 9) to rip out an ondol ( Korean
under floor heating) floor in one day. 20 These
men tend to move from one job to another -
staying no longer than a month in one place in
order to avoid arrest and deportation.
North Korean women invariably find it easier to
settle in China because they can seek
employment in sectors that are less visible, for
by themselves normally have some knowledge of
a safe route either through previous trips or
information given to them by third parties such
as Chinese merchants or returning border
crossers. Those without prior knowledge are less
willing to venture out on such a dangerous
journey on their own. Instead, they seek
assistance from a guide, acquaintance, friend or
family member who knows the way.
The fee for a guide can range from 200 yuan
( US$ 26) to 1,000 yuan ( US$ 130) depending on
the level of service provided. 16 One interview
indicates that bribing a border guard is not as
straight- forward as it used to be. A 27- year- old
man from Pyongyang noticed a change from the
first and second time he went to China:
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
( e. g. in contact with South Koreans or Christians
or caught en route to South Korea). In general,
the former were sent to a labour training camp
( nodong danryundae) or a re- education camp
( kyohwaso), while the latter were incarcerated in
a political prison camp ( kwanliso).
When the flow of migrants continued despite the
improving access to food in the early 2000s, both
governments introduced new policies in an attempt
to reduce the flow of migrants across the border.
Good Friends, a Seoul- based South Korean
humanitarian aid organisation, reported that
there are now multi- layered checkpoints on both
sides of the border, which are heavily patrolled
by armed guards. 12 In October 2006, China
erected a barbed wire and concrete fence north
of Dandong, along more than 20 kilometres of
the Chinese- North Korean border. 13 This was
followed by raids in November and December
2006 by the Yanji police in Jilin Province on
homes suspected of harbouring North Koreans. 14
On the other side of the border, the North Korean
authorities have been closely monitoring those
at risk of flight, namely previous offenders and
families who have missing members ( presumed
to have gone to China). As part of their
surveillance operation, the police have solicited
the aid of civilians to spy on their neighbours.
On occasion, the police have even travelled to
China to arrest border crossers. In an attempt to
deter further illegal crossings, families of known
offenders living in the border areas were reported
to have been removed from their homes at the
beginning of 2007.15
North Koreans who cross the border into China
A North Korean guard post along the Tumen River.
Back in 1999, it was easy to bribe the North
Korean soldiers. This time [ in 2004] there
was tighter border control and the soldiers
were not so willing to take your money. In
the end, I had to cross at night at a spot
where there weren't any border guards. 17
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
Like the 38- year- old, many women who travel to
China have aspirations of finding a job and
sending money to their families. But once they
arrive, they realise that earning money in China is
not as straightforward as they previously
believed. Their relatives or people with whom
they stay inform them that it is dangerous in
China and the best way to survive is through the
protection of a man. From that point on, the
women are easily convinced that they would be
better off getting married to a Chinese man. They
Many interviewees indicated that their married
lives in China represented an improvement in
their circumstances and offered the possibility
for them to support themselves and assist their
families in North Korea.
example as domestic workers, nannies or carers
in private homes or as cleaners, cooks or dish
washers in restaurants.
Rural brides
Over 70 per cent of the women interviewed for
this report married a Chinese man, often a
Chosun Jok or Korean- Chinese ( a Chinese citizen
of Korean descent) farmer. In a country with a
significant shortage of women, brides go for a
premium, especially in rural areas where the
shortfall can be as dramatic as 13 to 10 and to
make matters worse, many of the eligible
Chinese women opt for more financially secure,
urban husbands. 21 What this shortage ultimately
means for the North Korean women is that they
fill a demand for wives from Chinese men who
are essentially undesirable to the local women.
As a 63- year- old woman from Kyongsong noted,
“ North Korean women only marry Chinese men
who have some kind of defect such as old age,
disability, poverty, etc.” 22
Many of the interviewed women who married
Chinese men felt a great sense of responsibility for
maintaining the family household in North Korea.
One 38- year- old woman from Hoeryong expressed
how it influenced her decision to go to China:
are then introduced to a relative or friend -
usually a rural farmer - and their marriage is
arranged. Such an agreement can take place
with or without money exchanging hands. 24 As
these de facto marriages are not legally binding,
the woman's illegal status remains unchanged.
They are just as vulnerable to arrest and
deportation as any other undocumented North
Korean.
In Chinese- North Korean households, the women
play an integral role in family life. They not only
help with daily work on the farm, but also
improve living conditions by increasing the
family's earning power and taking care of family
members, including children, stepchildren or
ageing in- laws who may otherwise be neglected
by the husband. A 42- year- old woman from
Hoeryong illustrates this desire to strive for a
better life:
The kitchen of a rural farming household in Jilin Province.
I first came to China in May 2003 because
my mother had died of hunger in the 1990s
and the food situation was getting
desperate. I was married and had one
daughter. I felt responsible for my family.
I had two younger brothers who needed to
marry and my father's 60th birthday was
coming up. It would have been impossible
to manage all those things without money.
I worked in the market and through my
work, I met Chinese business colleagues
who told me that I could earn well in
China. 23
I have worked hard and helped my
husband get out of debt. We recently
bought a new house. It has a modern roof
and not a thatched one. We have also
bought a cow for ploughing. I am able to
send some money to my son in North
Korea. He is also a farmer. 25
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
4. Forcible
Repatriation
Police Raids
In order to clamp down on illegal migration of
North Koreans into China, the Chinese
authorities have periodically engaged in police
raids on people's homes, places of employment,
Internet cafés and church gatherings. Many of
those interviewed for this report were arrested
during crackdowns on irregular North Korean
migrants, which often take place after a politically
sensitive incident such as an attempt by North
Koreans to seek asylum at a foreign mission. 27
The police raids are well- organised and can
directly involve the Chinese military border
police, especially in rural areas. It is often
through one arrest that the police gather
information on the whereabouts of other North
Koreans living in the area. A 43- year- old woman
from Chongjin was arrested when two teenage
boys whom she had helped were forced to report
her to the police:
Marriage between Chinese men and North
Korean women brings to light the issue of the
growing number of stateless Chinese- North
Korean children who are born from these
marriages. They are denied Chinese citizenship,
as these marriages are not recognised by law. It
is possible to bribe an official to register the
child's name onto the Chinese father’s hukou
( household registration) but at a price tag of up
to 5,000 yuan ( US$ 650), it is beyond the means
of most rural households. Without a hukou,
stateless children may be able to access
education by paying off a school official, but their
grades cannot be officially registered. However,
interviews for this report have revealed that
some local authorities have been allowing
parents since January 2007 to register Chinese-
North Korean children onto the father's hukou for
a nominal fee of 500 yuan ( US$ 65). 26
A North Korean woman married to a Chosun Jok farmer with her daughter.
On the evening of 10 December 2005, the
Yanji police came to our house and arrested
us. They knew where we lived because of
two teenage North Korean boys. I had felt
sorry for them so I let them stay with us for
10 days. They were later caught at an
Internet café and the police made them tell
where other North Koreans were hiding. 28
In February 2003, the Chinese military
police came from Longjing to arrest North
Koreans in our village. They captured a
North Korean man and his daughter. The
police told them that they would be
released if they gave information where
other North Koreans were hiding. My house
was the closest one so the police came to
mine first. 29
Another woman, aged 36, from Yoosun
recounted how she was arrested:
In this political climate, North Koreans living in
cities fear exposure from being reported by their
Chinese neighbours, so they keep to themselves
and avoid venturing outside their apartment.
But this isolation makes them long for contact
with other North Koreans. As many of the case
studies indicate, this contact brings its own
risks.
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
When North Koreans are arrested, they are
normally taken to the local police station before
being transferred to the nearest border detention
centre operated by the Chinese military police.
This is where they await deportation. Most are
processed for deportation at Tumen, but other
border centres include Dandong, Helong,
Hunchun, Longjing and Sanhe. At the detention
centre, the military police take down the
personal details of the North Korean prisoners
and ask them general questions on their
activities in China.
Most of those interviewed by Anti- Slavery
International said that they were never hit or
treated badly by the Chinese police. In fact, one
58- year- old woman from Mayang remarked on
the high quality of the food served at the Tumen
detention centre and how new and well- heated
the facility was. 33 This facility is a new wing that
the Chinese authorities have had to build due to
the growing number of border crossers passing
through Tumen. 34 Another 30- year- old woman
from Kyongsong who was also detained at Tumen
remembers how she regretted not having eaten
more in China after she was repatriated to North
Korea. 35
In general, the period of incarceration for
undocumented North Koreans at these border
facilities is brief. Their deportation, however, can
be delayed because they are too sick to travel or
have to wait either for more North Koreans to
arrive or for the conclusion of a trial involving
them and a Chinese citizen. One 32- year- old
woman from Kilchu was arrested at the Yanji bus
station in July 2006 as she was about to board a
bus for Shenyang ( en route to South Korea).
Rural residents, on the other hand, do not have
the luxury of anonymity. Villagers know exactly
where North Koreans live. One 28- year- old
woman from Onsong was arrested three times by
the same police because “ all the villagers knew I
was North Korean so when there was a
crackdown, the police knew where to go”. After
the third arrest, she and her husband finally
decided to move out of the rural village:
Those who have been arrested and repatriated
told Anti- Slavery International how they were
afraid of noises in the middle of the night,
especially of cars. Some even have a plan of
escape for the next time the police come
calling. 31 Most of the returnees share the
opinion that they would live reasonably well in
China if they could live in peace without the
constant fear of arrest.
It is interesting to note that the local police in
certain areas are protecting the North Korean
women residing in their jurisdiction by giving
them prior warning of police raids from the cities
or border areas. 32 This is consistent with the
decision made by some local officials to allow
children of Chinese and North Korean parentage
to obtain hukou. Both actions indicate a more
flexible response towards North Koreans from the
local Chinese authorities and possibly
recognition of the valuable role they play in
supporting families in China.
A rural neighbourhood in Jilin Province.
The Tumen border detention centre.
[…] it was too dangerous to remain there. If
we had stayed, it would have been only a
matter of time before the city police returned
and arrested me for the fourth time. 30
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
5. Punishment Upon
Return
At the core of the forcible repatriation of border
crossers debate is the individual's right to travel.
The right to leave and return to his or her country
is enshrined in Article 13b of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of
movement is also guaranteed under article 12 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights ( CCPR) to which the DPRK is a signatory.
Paragraph two states that “ Everyone shall be free
to leave any country, including their own”.
Yet DPRK law requires that its citizens obtain a
' traveller's certificate' for travel abroad ( and
within the country). The process of obtaining a
traveller's certificate is long, prohibitively
expensive and a request can be refused without
any reasonable justification. For example, an
application to travel to China, which usually
requires a letter of invitation, can take months to
process and cost up to US$ 300 in fees and
bribes. 38 This is not an option open to many
North Koreans so most travel to China without
permission, but in so doing, they risk arrest and
deportation.
Article 62 of North Korea's revised 2004 Criminal
Code punishes its citizens for travelling to
another country without state permission:
She was transferred to the Tumen border
detention centre where she was detained for
over a month until the broker who helped her
was tried and convicted. During her
incarceration at Tumen, she witnessed North
Korean border crossers being deported on a bi-weekly
basis. 36
Deportation
Despite being party to the 1951 UN Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees, which
prohibits the forced returns of refugees ( non-refoulement),
China continues to repatriate
undocumented border crossers. The Chinese
Government maintains that all undocumented
North Koreans are illegal economic migrants,
not refugees, and thus denies the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
( UNHCR) access to them. China's stringent
adherence to a policy of arrest and deportation
originates from a bilateral treaty it signed with
the DPRK in 1961 under which both sides are
obligated to prevent the illegal border crossing
of residents and to repatriate any citizens
without proper travel documents. 37 This
agreement took effect during the Great Leap
Forward ( 1958- 1961) when 10 to 40 million
Chinese died as a result of widespread famine.
During this period, many Chosun Jok or Korean-
Chinese sought refuge with relatives living on
the other side of the border in North Korea.
Thirty years later, a reversal of fortune sees
North Koreans seeking help from their Chinese
neighbours. At the onset of the famine, many
Chosun Jok were sympathetic and quite willing
to help North Koreans who had fled their
country in search of food and work. But their
goodwill has gradually worn off, as most
Chosun Jok have few resources to share and
many feel that the North Koreans have
overstayed their welcome. The Chinese
authorities have also played a role in sowing
seeds of discord among ethnic Koreans by
offering rewards for turning in North Koreans
and fining or arresting anyone caught aiding
them. Signs written in Korean and Chinese
along the border in China are stark reminders of
the North Koreans' personae non gratae status.
One reads “ Illegal border crossing is punishable
by law” and another warns that “ It is strictly
forbidden to harbour, help or employ border
crossers”.
This sign along the Chinese-
North Korean border reads:
“ Illegal border crossing is
punishable by law”.
Any citizen who defects, surrenders, or
gives secrets to a foreign country or to the
enemy in betrayal of the country and the
people shall be sentenced to a re-education
through labour institution for not
less than five years. In cases where the
person commits an extremely grave
offence, he or she shall be given life
imprisonment in a re- education through
labour institution, the death penalty or
have his or her property confiscated. 39
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Under article 62, border crossing is considered a
serious political crime, similar to treason, and its
punishment is therefore particularly harsh.
However, in 1999 there was a shift in policy
which recognised that not all those who travelled
to China were politically motivated and the
punishment for border crossing was subsequently
reduced to three years. This was further reduced
in 2004 under article 233, which stated:
The Tumen Bridge.
A person who unlawfully crosses the
frontier of the Republic shall be sentenced
to a labour training institution for up to two
years. In cases where the person commits
an extremely grave offence, he or she shall
be committed for up to three years in a re-education
through labour institution. 40
Significantly, article 233 introduces a separate
prison facility, the labour training institution
( nodong danryundae), for less serious offences.
This camp has a less harsh regime than the re-education
through labour institution ( kyohwaso).
Kukga Bowibu ( National Security Agency or NSA)
Even with such changes, however, forcible
repatriation still has extremely serious
consequences for those caught border crossing.
Their arduous journey through the North Korean
penal system begins when they are transported
from the Chinese border detention centre to the
nearest kukga bowibu ( National Security Agency
or NSA). In the case of those incarcerated at the
Tumen detention centre, they make a brief stop
at Namyang, the North Korean town on the other
side of the Tumen Bridge. Since so many border
crossers come through Tumen, the North Korean
authorities have set up Namyang as a processing
centre where the personal details of repatriated
North Koreans are first taken. The prisoners are
then transferred to the National Security Agency
in Onsong.
Their personal details are registered again
followed by a humiliating body search. Guards
engage in a very thorough and invasive search
because prisoners go to great lengths to hide
money, either by wrapping it tightly in plastic
before swallowing it or inserting it in their vagina
or anus. The reason so many hide money is
because they need it during their incarceration to
buy food or medicine or to bribe guards ( e. g. for
better treatment or early release). Prisoners are
told to undress, put their hands behind their
head and squat and stand repeatedly with their
legs spread wide while a guard watches for any
money to drop from their private areas.
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Indeed, the national security agents are more
interested in their daily activities in China, such
as when and why they went to China, what jobs
they held and in particular any contact they may
have had with South Korea ( people, radio, TV and
films) and/ or churches. One 36- year- old woman
from Onsong was interrogated by the Saetbyul
NSA in 2005 on these issues plus whether she
had met any Americans or CIA agents. She was
even asked whether she had spoken about her
experiences with any foreign journalists. 50
camp ( kwanliso). 46
In its 2001 concluding observations on North
Korea's compliance with the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United
Nations ( UN) Human Rights Committee stated
that preliminary examinations unduly prolonged
the duration of a prisoner's pre- trial detention
and thus, were incompatible with article 9,
paragraph 3 of the CCPR, 47 which states:
At the onset of the mass migration into China,
there undoubtedly was a great deal of sensitivity
on the part of the North Korean authorities
regarding the issue of North Korean women
marrying Chinese men and the children born
from these marriages. This was previously
considered a reason for harshly punishing
someone, 48 but today this issue barely raises an
eyebrow. Interviews indicate that the agents
often assume North Korean women are married
to Chinese men, especially if they were living in
rural areas, and appear to have some
understanding that marriage is an act of survival.
As a 35- year- old woman from Soongam put it:
Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal
charge shall be brought promptly before a
judge or other officer authorised by law to
exercise judicial power and shall be
entitled to trial within a reasonable time or
to release.
I told them that I married a Chinese man
and had a daughter. I thought that I could
earn money but when I arrived in China, I
wasn't able to. I had to get married.
Having a Chinese husband and children is
alright but meeting South Koreans or
attending church is not. 49
A 47- year- old woman from Hoeryong described
the humiliating body probe she had to undergo
at the National Security Agency in Sinuiju during
her fourth arrest in 2004:
Stools from prisoners are also checked for
money, a process sometimes induced by the use
of laxatives. Anyone caught hiding money or
even suspected of hiding it is beaten by the
guards. Half of the confiscated money is usually
returned to the prisoner at the end of their
incarceration. Some interviewees explained that
the amount retained was for the cost of feeding
the prisoner while in detention. 42
Yeshim ( Preliminary Examination)
An important aspect of the DPRK criminal
procedures is the use of yeshim ( preliminary
examination), which takes place while a suspect
is detained and before he or she has been
formally charged with an offence. It is conducted
by special agents from the National Security
Agency and its purpose is to investigate the facts
and details of crimes considered politically
sensitive. In the context of border crossers, the
aim is to determine whether there was any
element of political wrongdoing in their
migration. If the agents are convinced that they
went to China for purely economic reasons, their
case is then turned over to the inmin boansung
( People's Safety Agency or PSA). There is no
forced labour at this stage of incarceration.
The average pre- trial detention of border crossers
interviewed for this report was over two months44
and most of these spent between one and four
weeks at a National Security Agency45 during
which time they were interrogated two to four
times. One 27- year- old man from Pyongyang,
however, was incarcerated for one year. He was
held at the Chongjin Provincial National Security
Agency in 2003 where the agents suspected that
he was planning to defect to South Korea
because his father was once a high- ranking Party
member who had been sent to a political prison
The first thing they did was check our bodies
for money. A female guard searched all the
female prisoners. She wore rubber gloves
and checked our vagina for any hidden
money. After each prisoner, she put her
gloved hand in a bucket of disinfectant and
searched the next prisoner. 41
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She was not charged with attempting to defect to
another country ( article 62 of the revised 2004
Criminal Code) and was eventually released after
four and a half months without being tried or
sentenced. Similarly, the 27- year- old man from
Pyongyang who was held at the NSA in Chongjin
for one year on suspicion of trying to defect to
South Korea was released after the agents were
unsuccessful in extracting a confession from him. 57
Prisoners invariably undergo a more intense and
extended interrogation process when they are
caught at a Chinese border area with a third
country ( e. g. with Mongolia or Vietnam), as it is
assumed that they are seeking to defect to South
Korea via a third country. A case in point is a 21-
about to board a plane bound for South Korea.
When she was interrogated by the agents in
Onsong, she admitted to marrying a Chinese
man because otherwise she “ couldn't have
survived”, but denied the more serious charge:
One of the female prisoners saw me praying
and recognised the church songs so she
told on me. During my next interrogation
session, the agents asked if I attended
church in China. When I said no, they
slapped and kicked me on my back.
When I confessed, they didn't hit me any
more, but just asked details about it. I said
that there was nothing wrong with going to
church - it wasn't an act against the North
Korean State. It was a good place where
good things were done. 53
During my interrogation, I denied trying to
go to South Korea. I said that I was at the
airport because I was saying goodbye to a
relative who was going to study in Japan. I
denied it to the very end. 56
Interviewees also reported that people died
during their detention as a result of beatings
received from guards at the NSA. 54 However,
many interviewees also said that they were never
hit at the National Security Agency because they
told the truth or properly answered the
questions, but they did concede that male
prisoners were hit more than females.
It appears that prisoners can avoid punishment
for acts that they have committed or acts of
which they have been falsely accused if they
deny it consistently and to the very end. 56 For
example, many interviewees had some degree of
contact with a church in China ( because the
church is active in assisting undocumented North
Koreans), but most denied this during the
interrogation process.
Moreover, a border crosser's confession to a
minor ' offence' - like marriage to a Chinese - may
aid in building up their credibility when they are
accused of other more serious offences. One 41-
year- old former railway worker from Chongjin was
arrested at Yanji Airport in June 2004 as she was A North Korean interviewee.
The use of violence is deliberate and pointed,
aimed at extracting information from prisoners. 51
Agents hit prisoners when they think prisoners
are lying or hiding something. In 2006, a former
telephone operator from Chongjin was hit by NSA
agents because she denied having any contact
with South Koreans or the church. Convinced
she was withholding evidence, the agents tried
to force a confession out of her and pulled her in
for questioning seven times. 52
Another Chongjin native was beaten by agents in
Onsong in 2004 until she confessed the truth
about her church affiliation:
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An integral component of the preliminary
examination is to uncover a border crosser's
sasang ( political ideology) and motivation. The
21- year- old man from Musan who was caught
near the Mongolian border related how the
agents in Sinuiju were interested in his political
ideology and motivation for wanting to go to
South Korea and prompted him to reveal whether
he genuinely wanted to betray his country. The
agents from his hometown continued this line of
enquiry by asking him why he wanted to go to
South Korea, what he thought of his own country
and what he had against it. 61
Even when national security agents have
evidence that a border crosser tried to flee to
South Korea or attended church, this does not
automatically condemn him or her to a political
prison camp ( kwanliso). This is where their
political ideology and motivation can swing the
decision in their favour. For example, a 68- year-old
woman from Suhsangdo was arrested in
2004 with seven other North Koreans, in Weihai,
Shandong Province on their way to Southeast
Asia ( and eventually to South Korea). She was
repatriated to the NSA in Onsong where the
agents, having received the arrest documents
from China, had solid proof of her attempt to flee
to South Korea. The gravity of her situation was
further heightened by the fact that this was her
second arrest for border crossing yet she
successfully convinced the agents that her
political ideology was sound and her motivation
beyond reproach:
year- old man from Musan who was caught in
2002 during his second attempt to reach South
Korea - this time near the border of Mongolia. He
spent four months in two different National
Security Agencies where he was beaten until he
confessed to trying to enter the South Korean
Embassy in Ulan Bator. He managed to escape
before he was sentenced at the People's Safety
Agency. 58
A preliminary examiner does not take lightly any
act that could be interpreted as an assault on the
moral fabric of North Korean society. Marriage to
a Chinese is no longer considered serious or
' unpatriotic' because eking out a humble
existence from the toil of the land is seen as
' honest', that is, hardworking, agrarian and poor.
By contrast, ' comfortably' serving drinks to
customers at a karaoke bar would not pass the
moral litmus test of the National Security Agency.
During the interrogation of a woman from
Kyongsong, the national security agents checked
her hands to see if she had been “ living in
comfort”, which she interpreted as being
employed at an entertainment establishment like
a karaoke bar. With some degree of pride, she
recounted how they clearly felt her rough hands
and knew she had been working on the land,
and hence, did not have an easy life. 59
Another woman from Hoeryong who solicited the
help of a high- ranking Chinese police officer at
the Tumen detention centre before being
deported to the Onsong NSA realised only too
late that this help actually worked against her.
The agents were incensed by her audacity in
requesting help from a Chinese:
They hit me and yelled, “ Who do you think
you are for asking such help?” They were
suspicious that I was involved in lots of bad
activities in China. One day I was
blindfolded with five others and taken to a
secret place. I think it was a kwanliso
[ political prison camp]. This was the place
where all the prisoners served a life term. I
spent two months at this facility where I
was subjected to a very intense and severe
interrogation. They asked me about every
little detail and re- interrogated me on any
inconsistencies. I had to write out multiple
confessions until they were satisfied. 60
The crime that I had committed was severe
but I told the agents that the Chinese
authorities were bad because they didn't
just repatriate us but tricked us with a sting
operation. They also lied about not
sending the arrest documents ( with
information on trying to escape to South
Korea) to the North Korean authorities. I
told them that I wanted to go to South
Korea not because I liked the country or
hated North Korea, but because of the
desperate food situation. 62
The agents did not hit or even question her
further. She was not tried and was eventually
released after serving a month at a provincial
detention centre ( do jipkyulso).
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
The Waiting Game
Once border crossers complete the interrogation
process at the National Security Agency, they are
technically ready for sentencing. As the
overwhelming majority of border crossers face
sentences for non- political crimes, the People's
Safety Agency ( PSA) takes over from this point on
and decides on their punishment. But the
decision can only be made by the PSA from their
hometown. What this means is that unless the
border crossers' hometown is the place where
they underwent preliminary examination, they
have to wait for transfer to their next destination.
Either due to a lack of will or resources for
transporting prisoners, unconvicted border
crossers spend one to three months on average
in various prison camps before reaching the PSA
in their hometown where they can finally be
sentenced.
It is of small consolation that the penal
authorities often take into consideration time
served. Those who live further away from the
border area are logically worse off. In 2001, it
took one 35- year- old resident of Orang, a town
about 50 kilometres south of Chongjin, five
months to reach her hometown PSA. After
leaving the NSA in Hoeryong, she was first
transferred to the Hoeryong labour training camp
for a month and then to the Chongjin provincial
detention centre where she was held for four
months. No consideration was given to the time
served when she was finally sentenced at the
PSA in Orang to six months in a labour training
camp ( nodong danryundae).
Living Conditions
When prisoners at the National Security Agency
are not being interrogated, they have to sit in
rows in their assigned rooms. During
crackdowns when the agency is overflowing with
prisoners, there is so little room that prisoners
spill out onto the aisles and have to sit with their
back in between the legs of the person directly
behind them. They are expected to sit without
moving or talking from morning to night with the
exception of mealtimes and a daily 10- minute
exercise break. Anyone caught talking or moving
is hit by the guards. Interviews reveal that
people found sitting still far more difficult to
endure than being interrogated. A Suhsangdo
resident was caught falling asleep and as a
punishment was forced to “ hang on to the cell
bars for 10 minutes using my arms and thighs”. 63
There is a toilet at the facility either without a
door or with a very low one. As one woman
remarked “ You could see people's heads. There
was no privacy but everybody was suffering so
much in this facility that nobody cared about
modesty.” 64 There are also set times to go to the
toilet, which could be as little as once a day and
is strictly enforced, as one Musan resident
experienced firsthand:
I was hit once because I asked one of the
guards if I could go to the toilet. He
wouldn't let me, but I was so desperate
that I went anyway. I got caught and was
hit in the head with a gun cleaning rod. I
was bleeding, but received no medical
attention. They just put cigarette ashes on
my wound to stop the bleeding. 65
The prison guards gave us one bucket of
water a day to share amongst 25 women.
There was a hierarchy in place where
people who had been there longer had
access to the water first. Only after they
washed were we then able to wash. The
dirt just fell off our bodies. We had to rinse
our towels in the same bucket after wiping
our bodies with it. You can imagine how
dirty it was. Some of the women were
going through their menstrual cycle. After
we cleaned our bodies, then we had to use
the same water to clean the floor of the
room. Then finally the water was used to
flush the toilet. 66
Prisoners were unable to wash regularly and
what little water they were given had to be
shared by many people. A 47- year- old woman
from Hoeryong explains how water at the
Hoeryong NSA in 2004 was used and re- used:
A North Korean train station near the Chinese border.
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
Regulation on Administration of Detention
Chamber, which clearly states that unconvicted
detainees held at a detention facility “ shall not
be subject to labour”. 69 The DPRK Government
further maintains that it “ has no legal institution
of imposing compulsory labour upon the people
who are under detention or confinement or
released on conditions”. 70
Forced Labour
By and large, prisoners work longer hours at the
labour training camp than at other prison camps.
The day for prisoners begins as early as 4am and
continues as late as midnight when they are
finally permitted to sleep. 71 Prisoners are forced
to work very long hours; most of the border
crossers interviewed for this report worked 10- 12
hours everyday with no rest days. A common
response was that they worked “ until it got dark”.
Labour is seen as a tool for reform and re-education.
Through the punishment of labour,
prisoners work off their crime. Prison guards
enforcing this punishment show very little
compassion for those in their charge. This is
illustrated by the treatment of a 38- year- old
Orang native by labour training camp guards in
her hometown when ill health impeded her work
in 2005:
6. Forced Labour in
North Korean Prison
Camps
In North Korea, there are various types of prison
camps; each facility is designated for specific
types of crime. Broadly speaking, a nodong
danryundae is a labour training camp that
incarcerates the majority of border crossers, as
well as other petty criminals. A do jipkyulso68 is
a provincial detention centre that serves as a
holding centre for prisoners in transit on their
way to a People's Safety Agency in their
hometown. Finally, a kyohwaso is a re- education
through labour camp ( re- education camp from
herein) holding felons, including border crossers,
who have been convicted of serious but non-political
crimes. All three penal facilities adhere
to a system where prisoners are compelled to
' work off their crime' through forced labour and
re- education.
Nodong Danryundae
( Labour Training Camp)
After their preliminary examination, most border
crossers will be sent to at a nodong danryundae
( labour training camp). The prison population of
a labour training camp varies depending on the
facility and on a variety of circumstances ( e. g.
whether there has been a recent police
crackdown in China), but on average they hold
about 100 or more prisoners, mainly border
crossers.
There are two types of border crossers
incarcerated at a labour training camp. The first
are unconvicted border crossers who are on their
way to the People's Safety Agency in their
hometown. From our interviews, the average
time spent at a labour training camp for those in
transit is 33 days. The second are convicted
prisoners, mainly border crossers, who have
been sentenced by the People's Safety Agency in
their hometown for relatively minor offences.
Irrespective of whether a border crosser has
been convicted or not, all prisoners at a labour
training camp are subject to forced labour. This
contravenes article 22 of North Korea's
Once I was not feeling well and didn't work
fast enough. A guard kicked me and
although he hurt my back, I still had to
continue working. He yelled at me saying
how I had to work off my crime for going to
China and to stop pretending to be sick or
tired. 72
We were sent to the mountains to carry
stones on our backs or heads. Because of
the friction, the skin on my back peeled
Prisoners are expected to work very hard and if
they do not, they are beaten. Even if prisoners
fall “ from exhaustion”, they “ still have to get up
and continue working”. 73 The type of forced
labour varies depending on the facility, season
and the labour needs of the local authority. Work
is done outside the labour camp facility on State-run
projects including farming, mountain logging,
road works, stone quarrying, coal mining and
construction. A 42- year- old former middle school
teacher from Hoeryong described the nature of
forced labour at the Onsong labour training camp
in 2003 and the toll it had on the prisoners:
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
selected from the prison population. Team
leaders are generally male and chosen primarily
because they are healthy and strong. The
responsibility of the work output in labour
training camps is often delegated to them.
Depending on the camp, prisoners can be hit by
the guards or the team leaders or both.
All but one of the 23 interviewees who were
subject to forced labour at a labour training camp
said that they were hit or saw other prisoners
being hit by a guard and/ or a team leader.
Several said that only male prisoners were hit or
that they were hit more than female prisoners.
One thought this was because women prisoners
worked harder and did what they were told.
A farmer from Musan explained how a fellow
male prisoner found it too difficult to quarry
stones and carry them down a mountain on an
empty stomach. While the prisoner took a
moment to rest, he was caught sleeping by one
of the guards who:
At the labour training camp in his hometown in
2004, a Musan inmate was forced to log in the
mountains:
One interview reveals how prisoners are also
forced to work in illicit activities for the North
Korean State. A woman, aged 35, gives an
account of how she had to cultivate opium
poppies at the Soongam labour training camp in
2001:
This is consistent with the information in a 2000
Hardcash Productions documentary, entitled
Children of the Secret State, that interviewed a
North Korean farmer who was forced to grow
opium to fund the army. 77 The North Korea
State's involvement in the production and
trafficking of heroin can be traced back to 1976,
but more recently in April 2003, Australian police
seized 50kg of high- quality heroin from the
North Korean vessel Pong Su on the coast of
southern Australia. Several of the arrested crew
members were members of the ruling Korean
Workers' Party ( KWP). 78
Prisoners' work is supervised by prison guards
as well as banjang ( team leaders) who are
It was my responsibility to take the logs
that other prisoners had cut and carry them
200 metres down the mountain using wire
strings. My hands would bleed because
the wire strings cut into my skin but I still
had to continue working. I wasn't hit by the
prison guards but others were when they
didn't cut or carry down enough logs. 75
[ We] were taken to a poppy field where we
had to make an incision on the poppy
bulbs and collect sap from them. The
prison guards explained to us that we were
helping to produce opium, which would be
sold abroad. The foreign currency that we
would get would help support our country
and our people. 76
[…] had all the team leaders punished by
making them move heavy rocks from one
place to another - about 100 metres apart -
until he said stop. The team leader
responsible for the sleeping prisoner was
so angry that he took a stick and beat the
prisoner's back and legs. The prisoner
couldn't walk for three weeks. He suffered
a fracture in one leg. 79
and bled. We had to load the stones onto
a truck, which was then taken to a building
site. It was such hard work that people
fainted. Guards were always yelling and
hitting the prisoners. When we worked on
this project, we didn't come home until
11pm. It took us over an hour to walk back
to the prison camp. 74
A North Korean interviewee.
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
articles 37 and 39 of North Korea's Regulation on
Administration of Detention Chamber and article
29 of the Regulation on Reform Administration. 82
Some prisoners are exempt from forced labour
because of an illness, disability or infirmity, but
the findings from the interviews show that the
treatment of the ‘ elderly’ ( those over 50 years
old) varied greatly between the labour camps.
For example, a Chongjin resident who was 51
years old when she was imprisoned was exempt
from work at the labour training camp in Onsong. 83
She spent her days sitting quietly and attending
re- education classes in the evening. Other
elderly prisoners had to work, but less than the
younger prisoners or they were given light work
in the kitchen or as cleaners. 84
At the other end of the spectrum, some elderly
prisoners are not only forced to work but are
beaten and verbally abused when they fail to
keep up with the others. A woman from
Kyongsong, who was 57 years old at the time of
her incarceration at the Hoeryong labour training
camp in 2001, recounted how she found working
in the fields physically draining because she was
old and hungry:
At the labour training camp, prisoners function
as a unit. They wake up, exercise, wash, work,
eat, go to the toilet, study, sleep, etc. at the
same time. This collective behaviour is extended
also to the administering of punishment when
one member ' lets the others down'. For
example, if a member fails to memorise the
prison rules and regulations, the whole group is
deprived of sleep until everyone has memorised
them. If one prisoner is not pulling his weight in
the fields, then everyone in his work assignment
is beaten. Or if a prisoner escapes then
everyone is forced to squat and stand one
hundred times as punishment. A Chongjin
native related how her work team was punished
at the Onsong labour training camp in 2006:
Prisoners who try to escape are severely
punished. Prison guards ensure that the team
leaders punish those responsible in the presence
of other prisoners to serve as a warning and
deterrent. A Hoeryong resident detailed what
happened during her 2003 incarceration when
one female inmate was caught trying to escape:
An Onsong resident confirmed this lack of
consideration for the elderly, as she recalled how
an old woman failed to weed fast enough in the
rice paddies:
As this and other interviews in this report
illustrate, the use of torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment and
punishment is endemic throughout all prison
camps, despite the fact that their practice is
strictly forbidden under article 7 of the UN
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as
There was a competition between the team
leaders over how much work each team
produced. If you produced less than the
other teams, you received less food. The
leader of the losing team singled out the
ones who were slow. They had to stand up
and the leader yelled at them saying that
because of their lack of effort, the whole
team suffered by getting less food. Then
they were hit. 80
One time while I was sowing, I was so tired
that I stopped for a rest. A young guard
caught me and grabbed me by my neck. I
pleaded with the guard and begged for his
forgiveness, but he just cursed at me and
kicked me on my back and head. He said
how I could dare to be tired when I had
been eating so well in China. Because of
that beating, I suffer from chronic back
pains and headaches still today. 85
The usual punishment was to squat and
stand for 100 times. One 70- year- old
woman couldn't keep up so she was
punished. There is no respect for the
elderly in prison. She couldn't do the
punishment, so she yelled at the guards to
just kill her instead. 86
One time five prisoners - two women and
three men - escaped from the prison camp.
One of the women was caught and brought
back to the camp. She was beaten by the
team leaders. They kicked her in the
stomach, her back and head. They did this
in front of all the prisoners to deter us from
attempting to run away. We then had to
criticise her until 2am. 81
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
wrong - even if they did not do anything wrong. If
they refuse, they are hit. It is the responsibility of
the team leader to decide which prisoners speak.
During these sessions, prisoners also have to
sing patriotic songs and dance. Equally, if they
do not know the words to a song or the
movements of a dance, they are hit. 91
Living Conditions
Prisoners live in cramped and unhygienic
conditions in labour training camps. There are
roughly 20 prisoners to a room who sometimes
have to sleep “ sitting up” or “ on top of one
another” because there is not enough space. 92
Water is a precious resource of which prisoners
are given only enough to wash their face and
sometimes to brush their teeth. The amount is
certainly inadequate for their health and
cleanliness. A 43- year- old woman from
Hoeryong explains how sparingly water was used
at the Onsong labour training camp in 2005:
Prisoners who are fortunate enough to work in
the fields during the summer months are
occasionally permitted to wash their bodies in
the streams. 94 Due to such unhygienic
conditions, most prisoners are infested with lice.
One 35- year- old woman from Eundok
remembered how “ everyone had lice because
there was no washing facility at the prison camp.
We could only clean our faces in the stream near
the corn fields.” 95
A particularly difficult time for female prisoners is
during their menstrual cycle. Although the
Regulation on Administration of Detention
Chamber stipulates that all detained persons are
provided with “ personal hygienic tools”, the
reality is very different. Without proper sanitary
napkins, the women are forced to improvise by
using their underclothes. This situation is further
exacerbated by the lack of washing facilities, as
one Hoeryong resident explains:
Pregnant Prisoners
Thirteen interviewees spent some time with
pregnant prisoners during various stages of their
incarceration from 2001- 2006.87 Most of the
interviews indicate that pregnant women are
exempt from forced labour and spend their days
inside the camp with the elderly and sick. This
indicates a significant improvement in their
treatment since 2000, before which pregnant
women were particularly singled out for
punishment and there were regular reports of
infanticide, forced abortion and other grave
human rights violations. 88 The interviews in
2005- 2007 did not identify any cases of
infanticide and only one case of forced abortion
although those interviewed seemed to be aware
of the ill treatment of pregnant border crossers in
previous years.
Women in their first trimester are more likely to
work than those further into their pregnancy who
are often exempt. If pregnant prisoners are
forced to work, it is usually less than the others
or they are given lighter work at the camp such
as cleaning, kitchen duty or feeding animals.
Pregnant prisoners are sometimes even sent
home, as a woman from Onsong observed:
There were two pregnant prisoners. They
didn't have to work. They just had to sit
quietly in the prison camp. Both were
released early and sent home after signing
a document stating that they would not
return to China. The treatment of pregnant
women has changed. Now they don't make
the pregnant women abort their babies. 89
There was a container of water that all the
prisoners had to share to clean in the
morning. We had to queue and get a
bucketful between many people. We
dipped our towels in it to wash our face.
There wasn't enough water to wash our
body. The water became dirty very quickly.
The quantity of water was often not enough
so those not fast enough didn't get any. 93
Re- education
Prisoners at all prison camps are required to
attend re- education classes generally held after
dinner, which can go on for two to four hours.
The purpose of these classes is to change the
prisoners' way of thinking by teaching them how
to be good citizens and obey society's rules and
regulations. One 34- year- old former coal miner
recalled how they “ learned patriotic songs,
studied about North Korean politics and
basically were told never to go to China again”. 90
On top of re- education classes, prisoners also
have to participate in self- criticism sessions
where prisoners are forced to criticise their own
behaviour by telling the others what they did
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Because of the insufficient diet, prisoners seek
ways to supplement it by foraging, stealing crops
from the fields, purchasing food or through
family visits. Those with family members living
nearby benefit considerably from these visits. A
38- year- old woman from Hoeryong, who
sometimes received extra food from her family at
the labour training camp in her hometown,
commented on how the elderly prisoners who
had no family members to help them became
sick and malnourished. 99 Given these
conditions, it is not surprising that many
prisoners suffer from malnutrition, diarrhoea and
digestive problems. Another Hoeryong resident
suffered multiple effects of the poor diet at the
labour training camp in Hoeryong in 2002:
Due to the harsh working and living conditions in
the labour training camp, it is not unusual for
prisoners to die in custody. One woman from
Kyongsong witnessed several deaths during her
incarceration at the labour training camp in
Hoeryong in 2001:
Food
Inmates throughout the various prison camps are
not provided with enough food to sustain their
health and strength. Drinking water is also in
short supply and not made readily available.
Meals are fairly standard with some minor
variations. Prisoners are fed three times a day,
half an hour each, on a below- subsistence diet
consisting of some form of corn - either served in
kernels, steamed ( like rice), powdered ( including
the husk and the cob) or in gruel - accompanied
by salty watery soup with some cabbage leaves.
The food at the labour training camp is of such
poor quality that one prisoner likened it to “ the
kind that Chinese farmers feed to their
animals”. 98
Medical Care
Labour training camps lack the proper medical
facilities needed for a prison population that is
underfed, overworked, and subject to beatings
and unsanitary living conditions. In such an
environment, prisoners are highly susceptible to
illnesses and diseases. As one former inmate of
Hoeryong labour training camp in 2001
observed:
Female prisoners used strips taken from
their underclothes to use as sanitary
napkins during their menstrual cycle.
They sometimes had to use the strips again
without washing them. 96
I saw three female prisoners die during my
incarceration. One collapsed at work in the
fields, another died in her sleep and the
last woman died of intestinal problems. 97
The problem wasn't any particular sickness,
but the hard labour itself combined with
terrible living conditions, inadequate food
Because I wasn't eating properly, my hair
fell out in lumps - I still have bald patches
today. Due to malnutrition, my nails were
so weak that they would turn over. 100
A North Korean interviewee.
Corn kernels being dried in the sun.
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Chongjin provincial detention centre's function
as a regional holding centre means that it
receives transfers of prisoners from facilities
throughout the region. The prison population at
Chongjin is therefore much higher than at a
labour training camp. It holds on average about
200 or more prisoners, but the number can be as
high as 1,000.104
The average period of incarceration at the
Chongjin provincial detention centre for
unconvicted border crossers interviewed for this
report is 37 days - longer than the stay at a
labour training camp. This is mainly due to the
fact that all provincial detention centre prisoners
are in transit and thus, are waiting for the police
from their hometown or a town/ city closer to
their hometown to come and escort them to the
next prison facility. Depending on the will of the
local police and their available resources, this
can take a long time, as one Chongjin inmate
explained:
Forced Labour
Like the labour training camps, the Chongjin
provincial detention centre subjects its prisoners
to forced labour. Several interviews described
the work as being more gruelling at the provincial
detention centre. Perhaps to compensate,
prisoners work slightly less hours and are fed
marginally better, as one woman from Kilchu
noted during her imprisonment in 2006:
Many labour training camps do not have a
medical clinic on their premises so those who
are sick are given some substitute medicine or in
extreme cases a doctor is called in from an
outside hospital. Camps with a medical clinic
are just as ineffective, as they are not equipped
with medicine. Those who need medicine have
to buy it. A Soongam resident described the
ways in which prisoners procured medicine at
the labour training camp in Onsong:
Without the ability to dispense medicine, the
only role of the camp doctors is to diagnose the
illness. Nothing more can be done for the
patients except to allow them some days rest.
But even this is very difficult to obtain, as several
interviewees remarked how unsympathetic camp
doctors were. The doctors feel that prisoners
need to work off their crime so unless prisoners
are very ill, they are not relieved from their work
assignment. To avoid processing a death, very
sick prisoners are released and sent home.
Do Jipkyulso
( Provincial Detention Centre)
The do jipkyulso ( provincial detention centre) in
North Hamgyeong Province is located in
Chongjin. It acts as a holding centre where
prisoners who live roughly south of Chongjin are
kept until they are transferred to a PSA in their
hometown or to a prison camp closer to their
hometown. 103 So with the exception of Onsong
and Hoeryong residents, border crossers who are
repatriated via the Onsong National Security
Agency would normally pass through the
Chongjin provincial detention centre. The
and dirty water. For example, prisoners
were so thirsty that they would drink water
they knew was dirty just to quench their
thirst. 101
Prisoners who live far from Chongjin have
to wait at the do jipkyulso [ provincial
detention centre] until the boansung [ PSA]
from their hometown comes to pick them
up. This usually takes a long time, so the
prisoners' family sometimes give food and
money to boansung officers in their
hometown so that their loved ones could
come out of the do jipkyulso faster. 105
It was mid- September so we had to harvest
the corn. The work was much harder and
we were in the fields for about eight to nine
hours per day. I was never hit but the
guards would hit you if you didn't work
hard. […] Because the work was so hard,
we were given better food. We ate corn rice
with some side dishes and soup. 106
There was a doctor at the danryundae
[ labour training camp] but he didn't tend to
cases like diarrhoea. Really sick prisoners
were taken to the hospital because there
was no medicine available. You had to buy
medicine from other prisoners or arrange
for someone to buy it for you outside. Once
I had very high fever and diarrhoea. A male
prisoner was kind enough to trade his
cigarettes for some medicine from another
prisoner, which he then gave to me. 102
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The Soongam resident also noted that during
her incarceration in 2002, guards tried to
prevent escapes by only allowing female
prisoners to work in the fields. 113
In addition to being forced to work hard,
prisoners are also expected to run continuously
while they work. This embodies the very core of
the re- education culture entrenched in the North
Korean penal system. The inmates are subject
An Orang resident confirmed that the “ food was
relatively better” because they were “ working
hard” and recalled how the prisoners in 2005
“ were given snacks such as biscuits, rice cake
and bread in between work” at the water plant
where they worked. Not all former inmates,
however, shared this opinion. An inmate in
2002 recounted how a female prisoner was so
desperate to supplement her diet that she
caught a rat and asked a guard if she could roast
it. In response, the guard “ verbally abused her
and as punishment, told her to draw water from
a nearby stream ten times. The poor woman
fainted from exhaustion.” 107
The work assignment given to prisoners at the
provincial detention centre is similar to that of a
labour training camp and ranges from farming,
mountain logging, brick making and
construction. A 47- year- old woman from Musan
described the type of labour she was forced to
perform for two months in 2003:
A North Korean interviewee.
It was planting season, so we were sent out
to the State farms to sow and weed. There
were so many weeds to pull out - it was
back- breaking work. The guards would
check your work and if you missed some,
they would make you do that row again. 108
During my incarceration, two female
prisoners tried to escape. When they were
eventually caught, the team leaders
gathered all the prisoners and in front of
us, the team leaders pulled the women's
hair and kicked their bodies. I saw them
the next day and they both had bruises and
swollen faces. They were forced to work
that day without shoes.
We were sent to building construction sites
where we carried, in pairs, stones and
cement. I was hit a lot - all over my body -
because I was not walking fast enough. My
legs hurt a lot so I couldn't keep up with the
others. Only the prison guards hit us, not
the team leaders. I also weeded in the
cabbage patch. I was hit for various reasons
- because I didn't work hard enough, I was
too slow or I had missed a weed. 110
Along with a more taxing workload, prisoners at
the provincial detention centre also endure more
beatings. Out of the 94 per cent of the
interviewees who were either hit or saw others
hit at a labour training camp, only 44 per cent
actually experienced beatings themselves. 109 In
sharp contrast, over 70 per cent of those who
performed forced labour at the provincial
detention centre were hit by guards and 100 per
cent witnessed other prisoners get hit. The
experiences of a 41- year- old Chongjin native,
who spent a month at the Chongjin provincial
detention centre in November 2004, were typical
of those experienced by other prisoners:
The comment that only guards - not team leaders
- hit the prisoners was echoed by other
interviewees. 111 In the provincial detention
centre, the main responsibility of the team
leaders is not to supervise prisoners' work
output, but to ensure that they do not escape.
Interviews with those who served time at the
Chongjin provincial detention centre show that
attempts by inmates to escape are a common
occurrence. 112 In order to deter such behaviour,
guards make the team leaders assemble all
prisoners and publicly inflict punishment on
those who are caught. One woman from
Soongam remembered one incident:
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
examination at an NSA, which can take up to
two months, a trial is over in a matter of hours or
less. Border crossers are not tried individually,
but in groups and the trials are normally closed
to the public. There are usually five or six
officials present: two judges, a defence lawyer, a
public prosecutor, a PSA supervisor, and the
PSA director. The role of these officials is
ambiguous, as they all seem to share the same
function, that is, to build up a summary case
against the defendants.
A 27- year- old man from Musan who was tried in
2006 said that his “ defence lawyer did not
defend me - he just asked me questions like the
other officials”. 116 This procedure appears to
violate article 14 of the CCPR that guarantees a
fair and public hearing and article 173 of the
revised 1999 Criminal Procedures Act which
states: “ The legal defence counsel should
correctly reveal the truth according to the law
and guarantee the rights of the accused.” 117
Questions asked by the officials cover reasons
for the border crossing, activities while in China,
contact with South Koreans or other foreigners,
church attendance and any exposure to South
Korean TV or radio programmes. A 36- year- old
Onsong resident was tried with four others in
2005 for border crossing. She recounted the
futility of trying to defend her actions:
to a constant level of physical pain and suffering
so that they may work off their crimes. For
example, one Musan inmate always had to run
when he was working. He was never allowed to
walk. If he did, the guards hit him with a
shovel. 114 Another inmate described a similar
experience:
Living Conditions
The living conditions in the Chongjin provincial
detention centre are similar to those of a labour
training camp. Prisoners live in cramped,
squalid quarters where 20 prisoners on average
share a room. Water is equally scarce and
prisoners are seldom - if ever - allowed to wash
their body. Lice are a common problem among
the inmates and female prisoners suffer greatly
during their menstruation. Medical facilities are
either non- existent or very rudimentary.
Medicine is not readily available and in the
absence of medicine, the only ' remedy' that a
doctor can provide is a couple of days relief from
forced labour.
Inmin Boansung
( People's Safety Agency or PSA)
The inmin boansung is the local police force
under the jurisdiction of the People's Safety
Agency ( PSA) who handles all non- political
crimes. In 1998, it replaced the sahwe anjunbu
( Social Safety Agency or SSA), but many North
Koreans still colloquially refer to this agency as
the ' anjunbu'. The People's Safety Agency in the
border crossers' hometown is where the
prisoners are detained whilst the judicial
decision is made. There are two types of judicial
procedure: the first is a formal trial, which means
that you will be sent to a re- education camp, and
the second is an informal sentence for those
who will be sent to a labour training camp.
There is no forced labour at this stage of
incarceration.
Formal Trials
Formal trials of border crossers take place within
the PSA facilities. Unlike the long and
meticulous process of the preliminary
We did brick work because it was winter so
there was no farming. We had to make
bricks and run while carrying 50 kg of
bricks to a designated deposit area. If you
didn't run, you were hit. 115
They asked me why I went to China. I told
them it was because I had to earn money.
They said my act of border crossing was a
betrayal of my country. They accused me of
being a sexual toy for my Chinese husband.
I told them that I didn't do things like that.
I defended myself by saying that I was just
trying to survive. I had to find help in
China. My husband helped me so that I
could support my family in North Korea. The
court members ruled that this was not a
justifiable defence, as I had clearly broken
the law.
She received a 14- month sentence at a re-education
camp. After the sentence was
announced to the five of them, one of the judges
informed them that they could appeal within
seven days, but they all declined. 118
Some proceedings can be even swifter without
questions regarding the border crossing being
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
for this report were arrested on 50 separate
occasions; 19 were arrested once, five were
arrested twice, four were arrested three times,
one was arrested four times and another was
arrested five times.
Out of the 50 arrests, only 15 resulted in some
form of judicial decision, which means an
overwhelming 70 per cent of cases received no
sentence, formal or otherwise. The North Korean
authorities were directly responsible for releasing
almost half the cases without any form of
sentencing. The other cases were not processed
because of escape, bribery, illness or amnesty
( see Table 2).
It is surprising that while the State imposes
severe restrictions on its citizens, including the
prohibition of unauthorised travel abroad, its
penal and judicial system operates in such an
arbitrary manner. In many ways, this makes the
arrest and detention of border crossers, not to
mention their subsequent exposure to forced
labour and other forms of harsh and degrading
treatment, a matter of even greater concern.
asked. During a 40- minute trial in 2005, a
woman from Kyongsong, aged 30, was only
instructed to read out loud her confession. After
she confirmed the validity of the statement, the
officials sentenced her to six months in a re-education
camp. She was released for time
served. 119
Informal Sentencing
In comparison to the trials, the informal
sentencing of border crossers to a labour training
camp shows even less regard for due process.
Border crossers are simply told by the police at
the PSA that they will serve a certain amount of
time at a labour training camp. Consequently,
some interviewees are not even aware that they
have been sentenced.
For example, an Orang native spent three days at
her local People's Safety Agency in May 2005
where she was interrogated on her activities in
China and then told that she would spend six
months at the Orang labour training camp for
illegal border crossing into China. 120 This is a
clear case of informal sentencing, yet during the
interview with Anti- Slavery International, she was
unaware that she had been sentenced.
Released without Sentence
Although the North Korean authorities go to great
pains to process, incarcerate and interrogate
border crossers, in practice only half of these
interviewed by Anti- Slavery International reached
their hometown PSA and a third of those were
released without a trial or informal sentencing.
The 30 North Korean border crossers interviewed
A North Korean interviewee.
Reason
Released without
sentence
Escape
Bribery
Illness
Amnesty
With infant
Number of cases
14
7
5
5
3
1
Arbitrary Decisions
A disturbing aspect of the preliminary
examination and the subsequent judicial process
is the arbitrary nature of the decisions. It is not
clear what criteria the NSA and PSA use to judge
the severity of a border crosser's crime. Some
interviewees who had confessed to seemingly
serious crimes ( e. g. attempting to enter South
Korea or attending church) were not sentenced to
a prison camp, but released ( see Diagram 1). 121
Table2: 35 Cases without Judicial Decision
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
crossing and yet the Hoeryong resident was
released without sentencing while the Onsong
resident was tried and sentenced to one year and
two months at a re- education camp. The only
discernable difference between the two is that
the Hoeryong resident had a missing right arm,
but that should not have had any bearing on the
outcome of the case. In fact, the woman herself
did not attribute the release to her disability.
Instead, she felt that it was due to her having
“ told them the truth from the very beginning”. 122
Moreover, cases with similar circumstances can
result in drastically different judicial outcomes.
For example, a 42- year- old woman from
Hoeryong and a 36- year- old woman from Onsong
were both arrested for the first time in April and
May 2005 respectively. Both are married to
Chinese farmers and have one child. During the
preliminary examination at the NSA, they
admitted to having married a Chinese, but only
the Hoeryong native said she had a son. They
were not beaten by the agents. Both cases seem
to be straightforward, non- political border
Diagram 1: Processing of Border Crossers in the North Korean Penal System
National Security Agency
( kukga bowibu)
x Preliminary examination
x No forced labour
Labour Training Camp
( nodong danryundae)
x Convicted and unconvicted
border crossers
x Forced labour
Re- education Camp
( kyohwaso)
x Convicted border crossers
x Forced labour
People’s Safety Agency
( inmin boansung)
x Formal trial or informal
sentencing for non- political
crimes
x No forced labour
Provincial Detention Centre
( do jipkyulso)
x Holding centre before transfer
to hometown
x Forced labour
Release
Release
Release
Release
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
sentence and transferred to a re- education camp
when she was caught trying to send a letter to
her Chinese husband expressing her desire to
return to China. When she arrived at the new
facility, she observed certain differences:
Food
Prisoners find it difficult to survive on the meagre
portions of food given the amount of work they
have to do. A frequently expressed sentiment
from several interviewees is that they were
always hungry. Many are forced to forage for
alternative foods such as grass, pine tree leaves
and tree bark, which only aggravate their already
fragile digestive systems. As the Orang native
noted, it is not unusual for prisoners to die of
malnutrition while in custody, especially those
who cannot find a nutritious means to
supplement their diet. One 36- year- old Onsong
native described her desperate food situation at
the re- education camp in Joongsan from 2005-
2006 and her attempts to survive:
Kyohwaso
( Re- education Camp)
Border crossers can only be incarcerated at a
kyohwaso ( re- education camp) under the
judgment of a court, that is, if they have been
tried and convicted at the People's Safety Agency
in their hometown. Under article 233 of the
revised 2004 Criminal Code, the prison term for
border crossing cannot exceed three years. In
fact, the sentences received since 2004 by those
interviewed for this report range from six to 14
months, which is significantly less than prison
terms given in the late 1990s. 123 A re- education
camp is not only for border crossers but for
convicts who have been sentenced for activities
that would be illegal in most countries.
Therefore, the prison population is much greater
than in other prison camps, typically holding over
1,000 inmates. Upon arrival, inmates are first
registered then given uniforms and a haircut.
Female prisoners have their hair cut short to 5cm
in length and male prisoners have their head
shaved. 124
Forced Labour
According to the North Korean State, punishment
at a re- education camp is “ aimed at making
offenders repent of their sins and go back to the
society to lead a law observing and independent
life”. 125 What this essentially means is that
through labour and re- education, prisoners not
only work off their crime but also endure such
hardship in the process that they become less
likely to re- offend. A typical day at a re- education
camp begins at 6am. After breakfast, the
prisoners are sent to their work assignments.
The length of the workday depends on the work
and the facility. During planting or harvest
season, prisoners are forced to work in the fields
until sunset with only a 30- minute break for
lunch. After dinner, they are required to attend a
re- education class that is at least two hours long.
They are then allowed to sleep around 10pm. 126
Forced labour at re- education camps is more
intense than at any other prison camp. Prisoners
who do not work hard enough or meet a daily
quota are beaten by the guards. 127 In 2001, a
woman from Orang, aged 35, was given a one-year
sentence at kyohwaso number 55 in
Yongkwang, South Hamgyeong Province. She
had originally been sentenced to six months at a
labour training camp but was given a double
A North Korean interviewee.
Life at the kyohwaso [ re- education camp]
was much harder. During the day, we
worked long hours in the fields. We had to
farm and put fertiliser in the corn and bean
fields. I wasn't hit - you were only hit when
you didn't do your work. We ate corn rice
and salty soup. It was impossible to
survive on the food they gave us. Some
people died of malnutrition. 128
During mealtimes, we ate tofu beans,
cornhusk rice and rotten cabbage soup.
That was never enough food for the amount
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
7. Return to China
Before border crossers are released from the
penal system, they normally have to sign a
declaration promising never to return to China.
They are then sent home where they are
assigned a probation officer from the People's
Safety Agency. The officer's primary task is to
keep tabs on the movements of the border
crossers. This entails making daily visits to their
home and ensuring that they do not return to
China. Border crossers wishing to go back often
have to either bribe the officers or wait for a
public holiday ( when the officers are not working)
to re- enter China. 131
Reasons for Returning to China
Upon release, border crossers face a number of
problems in North Korea. Most pressing are the
economic issues, which led them to leave in the
first place. Food is still scarce and many feel that
they are a drain on their family's already limited
resources. Some have no family left in North
Korea who can help to support them and this is
especially worrisome for the elderly. 132 In
addition to the normal difficulties associated
with finding work in a country with very high
unemployment, border crossers are also the
subject of discrimination.
There is a strong negative attitude toward border
crossers who are considered by most to have
' defected'. This manifests itself in prejudice,
harassment and public humiliation. 133 One
woman went back to her old job selling food at
the market but nobody would buy from her
because she was an illegal border crosser. 134
A Hoeryong resident who was released from the
Hoeryong labour training camp in December
2005 described the public humiliation she had
to endure:
An Onsong woman who couldn't find a job and
had nothing to eat at home saw no point in
staying in North Korea. She found out later the
consequences of her actions for her family:
Another woman from Mayang decided to return
to China in August 2005 where she found work
as a domestic worker and carer for a Chosun Jok
family. Her decision also had negative
repercussions for her children:
Medical Care
Re- education camps are equipped with medical
clinics and doctors, but the facilities are so poor
that they cannot meet the needs of the prison
population. Like other prison camps, doctors do
not have any medicine to dispense to their
patients. So in the absence of treatment, very
sick people are simply relieved of work. The
Joongsan inmate observed:
There was a medical clinic at the kyohwaso
[ re- education camp], but there was no
medicine, so all the doctor could do was
diagnose your illness and if it was serious,
he told you to lie down. He might give you
some scorched rice to eat but other than
that, nothing more could be done for you. 130
At first, I tried to live in North Korea with my
daughter […] but I couldn't due to the
constant public humiliation I received for
border crossing. I was forced to participate
in self- criticism sessions, which were held
in the town centre. They made me go in
front of everyone so that people could
openly criticise me. It was so humiliating.
In March 2006, I took my daughter and
returned to China. 135
After I had left, the Onsong townspeople
began to harass and humiliate my mother
because I had gone back to China. My
mother found it so difficult to stay that she
moved out and now lives with my younger
sister in Kangwon Province. 136
of work we had to do. I had to supplement
my meals with other things. In prison,
nobody could be picky about hygiene or
food. We ate everything - grass, frogs, etc. 129
My children get harassed in North Korea
because I am in China. When they wear
nice clothes, the neighbours taunt them
because the clothes are from China. […]
None of my children can leave because if
one leaves, then the others will get into
trouble because I am registered as an
illegal border crosser. 137
Other border crossers feel compelled to return to
China because they have a family there and do
not want to abandon them, especially their
children. 138
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Most interviewees were by and large still content
to continue living in China, as they are in close
proximity to North Korea where many of their
family members still reside. Some, however, find
living in China too stressful because of the
insecurity and the need to constantly guard their
behaviour. The South Korean Government's
policy of extending citizenship to North Koreans
offers these border crossers in China something
they have longed for: legal status. Through
regularisation, border crossers would be able to
“ live without fear and have peace of mind”. As a
Kyongsong resident pointed out:
Refugees sur Place
Regardless of the fact that the majority of North
Korean border crossers left the country for food
and economic reasons, the serious
consequences of unauthorised travel from the
DPRK means those North Koreans residing in
China have a legitimate reason to fear
persecution upon return to the DPRK. For this
reason they are entitled to international
protection as refugees sur place.
This is acknowledged by Vitit Muntarbhorn, the
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in the DPRK. In his 2007 report to the UN
General Assembly Human Rights Council,
Professor Muntarbhorn, conceded that North
Koreans leaving their country because of “ hunger
and other deprivations” would generally not be
considered refugees, but:
I always keep our doors locked. When I
hear a noise especially at night, I get
scared. It really affects my nerves. If it
weren't for the insecurity, I'd gladly remain
in China, but in South Korea you are safer
and can live in peace. 139
I live better in China than I did in North
Korea, but sometimes I think going to
South Korea would be better because I
would then have South Korean citizenship.
In South Korea, I would be able to speak
my mind freely without watching what I say
all the time. 141
[…] many of the hunger cases can be seen
as refugees sur place, because there is a
threat of persecution/ punishment if they
are sent back to the country of origin, on
the basis of their having left the country
without the required exit visa. 142
I would like to stay in China but I am afraid
of getting arrested again. I might be killed
for my crime the next time I get caught. I
can't stop thinking about it. I know if I get
caught again, I will have to kill myself. 140
This fear is well justified; as the 25
undocumented North Koreans interviewed in
China for this report have already been caught at
least once, they are likely to face harsher
punishment the next time they are arrested and
deported. One Onsong woman who was
released from a re- education camp in July 2006
fears the worst the next time she is repatriated:
The city of Yanji, capital of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in
China.
Fear of Re- arrest
A common concern that interviewees in China
expressed is the fear of re- arrest. Although they
have enough to eat, life in China is still difficult
because of the constant threat of arrest and
deportation. Many say that this unease is
always with them and that they never feel
entirely safe. A 34- year- old woman from Onsong
who was released from the labour training camp
in her hometown in April 2001 returned to China
in October 2001. Since then she has never
stepped outside her village because she is too
scared. Her account illustrates the constant
anxiety in which many undocumented North
Korean migrants live:
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
compelled to perform forced labour for an
average of about 50 days. The conditions in
which this forced labour is carried out - in terms
of long working hours, the arduous physical
nature of the work and the inadequate food,
water and medical treatment provided - also put
the lives of detainees at risk.
In view of the above, Anti- Slavery International
calls for:
This is undoubtedly the case and evidence in this
and many other reports documents the fact that
deported border crossers will be subject to
forced labour, beatings and other degrading
treatment and punishment in prison camps.
8. Conclusion
North Korea has softened its approach to border
crossers in recent years in recognition of the fact
that not all those who travel to China are
politically motivated. Punishment for border
crossing was consequently reduced to a
maximum of three years in prison in 1999 and
then to a maximum penalty of two year in 2004.
Despite this positive shift in policy, Anti- Slavery
International believes that the arrest and
imposition of forced labour on border crossers as
a punishment because they left the country
without state permission is not acceptable under
any circumstances. This law directly undermines
the right of North Koreans to freedom of
movement and is particularly inappropriate as
the vast majority of border crossers are only
migrating to try and ensure their survival in the
face of severe food shortages and economic
crisis.
The use of forced labour as documented in this
report is in contravention of commitments
undertaken by the North Korean Government and
set out in both international and domestic
standards.
The ILO defines forced labour as “ all work or
service which is exacted from any person under
the menace of any penalty and for which the said
person has not offered himself voluntarily”.
Forced labour is also prohibited under article
eight of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which North Korea has ratified. It is only
permissible to use compulsory labour in prison
facilities when it is “ in pursuance of a sentence
to such punishment by a competent court” or “ in
consequence of a lawful order of court”.
These exceptions do not apply to the vast
majority of cases involving border crossers as
they are incarcerated and subject to forced
labour without being convicted. Interviews for
this report show that unconvicted detainees were
The DPRK Government to amend its
Criminal Code so that leaving the country
without permission does not constitute a
criminal offence and to abolish the
requirement for travel certificates for travel
internally and abroad.
The DPRK Government to stop the use of
forced labour in prison camps and to take
immediate action to prevent unconvicted
detainees from performing forced labour, in
line with its international and domestic
obligations.
The DPRK Government to invite the UN
Special Rapporteur on North Korea to visit
North Korea in order to monitor human
rights conditions in the country and in
particular to co- operate with him so that he
can carry out a thorough review of
conditions in prison camps.
The Chinese Government to stop the
forcible repatriation of undocumented
North Koreans from China and to recognise
these North Koreans as refugees sur place
until the North Korean Government amends
its current treatment of border crossers as
outlined above.
The Chinese Government to grant the
UNHCR access to North Koreans in China,
so that the UNHCR can assess their
individual circumstances and seek a safe
and permanent solution to their situation.
Governments in the region and
internationally to raise the above issues at
all appropriate meetings with the
governments and inter- governmental
agencies responsible in order to resolve
this situation in the shortest period of time
possible.
x
x
x
x
x
x
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
9. Map of the DPRK
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
10. Endnotes
1 In 1995, North Korea suffered from heavy rains and floods. The country was previously hit by heavy flooding in 1990, a bitter cold winter in 1993 and hailstorms in
1994.
2 Andrew S. Natsios, The Great North Korean Famine: Famine Politics, and Foreign Policy, USIP, 2002, p. 81 and Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) and World
Food Programme ( WFP), Special Report: FAO/ WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, December 1996, p. 93
3 Leaving the DPRK without permission is a crime that can carry the death penalty. This is discussed in greater detail in chapter five.
4 For a range of population estimates, see International Crisis Group ( ICG), Perilous Journeys: The plight of North Koreans in China and beyond, 26 October 2006, p.
10.
5 Anti- Slavery International interview with a South Korean NGO, 30 January 2007.
6 China has a shortage of women due to its one- child policy and a cultural preference for boys. Many men, particularly in rural areas, have difficulty finding a wife.
See Norma Kang Muico, An Absence of Choice: The sexual exploitation of North Korean women in China, Anti- Slavery International, 2005.
7 For evidence of this, see Human Rights Watch, North Korea: Border- crossers harshly punished on return, March 2007; ICG, op. cit., p. 3; and Ministry of Unification
( MOU), Audit Report of National Governmental Agencies Conducted by the National Assembly, MOU, 2006, p. 50 ( in Korean).
8 Tony Banbury, WFP's regional director, said that there was a shortfall of one million tonnes or 20 per cent of the food needed by DPRK each year to feed its 23
million people. See “ North Korea Admits Food Shortages”, BBC News, 28 March 2007.
9 “ WFP's Pyongyang Chief Warns of Food Crisis in N. Korea”, Yonhap News, 29 March 2007.
10 MOU, op. cit., p. 50 ( in Korean).
11 The revised 1999 North Korean Criminal Code makes a clear distinction between the two groups in articles 47 and 117 ( to be discussed in chapter four). See Korea
Institute of National Unification ( KINU), White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea, KINU, 2006, p. 283- 4.
12 Anti- Slavery International interview with Good Friends, 8 February 2007.
13 “ China erects barbed wire fence along border with North Korea”, International Herald Tribune, 16 October 2006.
14 Koichi Furuya, “ North Koreans Risking All for Greener Pastures in China”, Asahi Shimbun, 7 March 2007.
15 Good Friends, North Korea Today, 58th Edition, Research Institute for North Korean Society, February 2007.
16 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 2, 11 and 12, January 2007.
17 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 15, 12 February 2007.
18 Anti- Slavery International interview with Good Friends, 8 February 2007.
19 Sarah Buckley, “ Escaping North Korea”, BBC News Online, 28 July 2004, available at: http:// news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ world/ asia- pacific/ 3932591. stm
20 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 5, 28 January 2007.
21 Melanie Kirkpatrick, “ The New Underground Railroad”, The Wall Street Journal, 12 May 2006 and Justin McCurry and Rebecca Allison, “ 40m Bachelors and No
Women… the Birth of a New Problem for China”, The Guardian, 9 March 2004.
22 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
23 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 3, 23, January 2007.
24 There are also cases where North Korean women are trafficked into marriage. See Norma Kang Muico, op. cit., p. 3- 5.
25 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 16, 27 January 2007.
26 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1, 8, 9, 11, 18, 25 and 27, January 2007.
27 In late July 2004, for example, 468 North Korean refugees were airlifted from Vietnam to South Korea. In protest, the North Korean Government broke off diplomatic
relations with the South. The Chinese Government also reacted with more frequent police crackdowns on undocumented North Koreans and greater tightening of
security around border areas and foreign compounds in China.
28 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 2, 22 January 2007.
29 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 18, 26 January 2007.
30 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 21, 29 January 2007.
31 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 16 and 27, January 2007.
32 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1, 9 and 27, January 2007.
33 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 24, 23 January 2007.
34 Lee Keumsoon, The Border- Crossing North Koreans: Current situations and future prospects, KINU, 2006, p. 52.
35 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 11, 29 January 2007.
36 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 1, 26 January 2007.
37 The treaty was later reinforced by the Mutual Co- operation Protocol for the Work of Maintaining National Security and Social Order in the Border Areas, signed by
the DPRK Ministry of State Security and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on 12 August 1986. This document was obtained by a Japanese NGO, Rescue the
North Korean People Urgent Action Network ( RENK), in 2002 and is available at: http:// www. bekkoame. ne. jp/ ro/ renk/ Protocol. htm
38 ICG, op. cit., p. 10 and KINU, op. cit., p. 113.
39 “ Criminal Code of the Democratic people's Republic Korea”, NK Chosun, February 2007 ( in Korean), available at:
http:// nk. chosun. com/ law/ law. html? ACT= detail& law_ id= 198& mode= list& type=& keyword=& page=
40 Ibid.
41 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 14, 11 February 2006.
42 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1, 7, 16, 23 and 28, January 2007.
43 Kim Soo- am, The North Korean Penal Code, Criminal Procedures, and the Actual Applications, KINU, 2006, p. 38.
44 This figure only includes those who reached the People's Safety Agency in their hometown.
45 Although the preliminary examination for a crime subject to a labour training sentence should technically conclude in 10 days, it can often last as long as two
months with the possibility of an additional two- month extension. Ibid, p. 26- 27.
46 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 15, 12 February 2007.
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Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps
47 Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Democratic People's Republic of Korea, CCPR/ CO/ 72/ PRK, 27 August 2001, paragraph 18.
48 See David Hawk, The Hidden Gulag, US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2003, p. 56- 69.
49 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
50 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
51 This is despite the fact that the use of force is prohibited under article 93 of the revised 1999 Criminal Procedures Act, which states that a preliminary examiner
cannot force a prisoner to confess and any such confession is inadmissible in court.
52 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 2, 22 January 2007.
53 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 12, 29 January 2007.
54 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 13 and 22, January 2007.
55 Lee Keumsoon, op. cit., p. 50.
56 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 12, 29 January 2007.
57 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 15, 12 February 2007.
58 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 4, 21 January 2007.
59 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
60 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 3, 23 January 2007.
61 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 4, 21 January 2007.
62 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 13, 28 January 2007.
63 Ibid.
64 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 12, 29 January 2007.
65 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 5, 28 January 2007.
66 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 14, 11 February 2006.
67 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 8, 21 January 2007.
68 ' Do' means province in Korean so Chongjin do jipkyulso translates into Chongjin provincial detention centre.
69 Second Periodic Report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
CCPR/ C/ PRK/ 2000/ 2, 4 May 2000, p. 21.
70 Ibid, p. 17.
71 Even before breakfast, prisoners are often assigned various jobs such as collecting firewood, feeding animals or weeding. Others have to run while singing
patriotic songs or study North Korean political ideology.
72 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 10, 22 January 2007.
73 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 2, 22 January 2007.
74 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 16, 26 January 2007.
75 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 5, 28 January 2007.
76 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 27 January 2007.
77 Hardcash Productions, Children of the Secret State, first broadcast on 19 October 2000, available at: http:// www. hardcashproductions. com/ recent02. html
78 Richard C. Paddock and Barbara Demick, “ N. Korea's Growing Drug Trade Seen in Botched Heroin Delivery”, Washington Post, 21 May 2003.
79 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 5, 28 January 2007.
80 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 2, 22 January 2007.
81 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 16, 27 January 2007.
82 Second Periodic Report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
CCPR/ C/ PRK/ 2000/ 2, op. cit., p. 21.
83 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 20, 25 January 2007.
84 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 11 and 16, January 2007.
85 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
86 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 7 and 27, January 2007.
87 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 and 24, January 2007.
88 See David Hawk, op. cit., p. 59- 72; Human Rights without Frontiers, Baby Killings: Fact- finding Mission by Human Rights Without Frontiers, 28 February 2002,
available at: http:// www. hrwf. net/ north_ korea/ nkhtml/ nk_ press_ services_ feb_ 28_ 2002. html and Norma Kang Muico, op. cit., p. 11.
89 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
90 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 27, 25 January 2007.
91 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 16, 21, 23 and 27, January 2007.
92 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 11 and 25, January 2007.
93 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 9, 25 January 2007.
94 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 16 and 22, January 2007.
95 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 25, 25 January 2007.
96 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 9, 25 January 2007.
97 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
98 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 14, 11 February 2006.
99 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 3, 23 January 2007.
100 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 14, 11 February 2006.
101 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
102 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
103 Musan residents are also processed through Chongjin even though it is slightly north of Chongjin. This may have something to do with the rail routes, as
prisoners are transferred via trains.
104 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 8, 21 January 2007.
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105 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 12, 29 January 2007.
106 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 1, 26 January 2007.
107 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
108 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 17, 29 January 2007.
109 This is due to the fact that most of the interviews in this report were with women and many have said that male prisoners get hit more and harder than female
prisoners.
110 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 12, 29 January 2007.
111 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1, 17 and 23, January 2007.
112 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 1 and 8, January 2007.
113 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
114 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 4, 21 January 2007.
115 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
116 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 5, 28 January 2007.
117 “ Criminal Procedures Act of the Democratic People's Republic Korea”, NK Chosun, February 2007 ( in Korean), available at:
http:// nk. chosun. com/ law/ law. html? ACT= detail& mode= list& law_ id= 236& nsflag= N
118 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
119 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 11, 29 January 2007.
120 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 10, 22 January 2007.
121 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 12 and 13, January 2007.
122 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 7 and 9, January 2007.
123 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 29 and 30, 17 February 2006 and 23 January 2007.
124 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
125 Second Periodic Report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
CCPR/ C/ PRK/ 2000/ 2, 4 May 2000, p. 22.
126 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 7, 29 and 30, January 2007 and 17 February 2006.
127 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 30, 23 January 2007.
128 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 8, 21 January 2007.
129 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
130 Ibid.
131 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 11, 12 and 13, January 2007.
132 Since the breakdown of food rations through the Public Distribution System ( PDS) in the mid- 1990s, North Koreans have been largely left to fend for themselves.
133 Lee Keumsoon, op. cit., p. 11.
134 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 23, 26 January 2007.
135 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 3, 23 January 2007.
136 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
137 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 24, 23 January 2007.
138 Anti- Slavery International interview with case studies 9 and 16, January 2007.
139 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 27, 25 January 2007.
140 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 7, 27 January 2007.
141 Anti- Slavery International interview with case study 26, 29 January 2007.
142 Vitit Muntarbhorn, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, A/ HRC/ 4/ 15, 7 February
2007, paragraph 20, p. 9.
143 Article 2( 1) of the International Labour Organization ( ILO) Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour ( Forced Labour Convention), available at:
http:// www. ilo. org/ ilolex/ cgi- lex/ convde. pl? C029
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11. Glossary of Terms
1. Banjang: a team leader chosen from the prison population who supervises the prisoners' work
and ensures that prisoners do not escape.
2. Chosun Jok: an ethnic Korean- Chinese or Chinese citizen of Korean descent.
3. Do Jipkyulso: a provincial detention centre that acts as a holding centre for prisoners in transit on
their way to a People's Safety Agency ( inmin boansung) in their hometown.
4. Hukou: an official Chinese household registration that functions like a residence permit. It
documents the personal details of an individual, as well as the details of all his or her family
members including their births, deaths, change of residency, marriages and divorces.
5. Inmin Boansung ( colloquially referred to as ' boansung'): the local police under the People's
Safety Agency ( PSA) whose jurisdiction is non- political crimes. In 1998, it replaced the sahwe
anjunbu, but many North Koreans still refer to this agency as the ' anjunbu'.
6. Kukga Bowibu ( colloquially referred to as ' bowibu'): the National Security Agency ( NSA) whose
jurisdiction is political crimes. Any cases deemed non- political are handed over to the People's
Safety Agency ( inmin boansung).
7. Kwanliso: a political prison camp.
8. Kyohwaso: a re- education camp for felons convicted of non- political but serious crimes.
9. Nodong danryundae: a labour training camp where labour is used for re- education and a means
to work off a prisoner's crime.
10. Yesim ( preliminary examination): the interrogation process where the National Security Agency
( kukga bowibu) builds a case against a suspect. For border crossers, this process is always done
while they are detained. When the preliminary examiner determines that a case is not
political, it is turned over to the People's Safety Agency ( inmin boansung).
11. Sahwe Anjunbu ( colloquially referred to as ' anjunbu'): the local police under the Social Safety
Agency ( SSA) whose jurisdiction is non- political crimes. Although it was renamed ' inmin
boansung' ( People's Safety Agency) in 1998, the term ' anjunbu' is still used to refer to the local
police.
12. Sasang: a political ideology.
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12. Case studies
Case study 1
Gender: female
Age: 32
Hometown: Kilchu, North Hamgyeong Province
Number of times repatriated/ imprisoned: 1 ( 2006)
Interviewed: 26 January 2007 in China
In North Korea, I worked at the railway station with my father. Later I changed jobs and worked in a
restaurant in Shinchung for two years. My mother was a teacher. My younger brother was a miner who
died in a mining accident. I also have one younger sister. Food rations from the Public Distribution
System ( PDS) had stopped so we had to fend for ourselves. On 6 April 1998, I left for China because of
food and economic hardship. I was 25 years old then. I went with a woman whom I had met at a market
in Hoeryong. We crossed the Tumen River together and went to Longjing. The woman knew people there.
They suggested that I marry and introduced me to one of their Chosun Jok relatives who was a farmer. We
soon got married.
In 2006, I made a decision to go to South Korea. I arranged the trip with a broker and in July, I went to
Yanji to take a bus to Shenyang. I was arrested at the station with four other North Koreans while trying
to board the bus. The Chinese broker who had organised the trip had apparently been arrested. He told
the police where to find us. I had given the broker 2,000 yuan ( US$ 250) as a deposit ( the rest was to be
paid once I arrived in South Korea) but of course that money was lost. I spent one night at the Yanji
police station before being transferred to the Tumen border detention centre, which is located in a
military base. I was there for a long time - over a month - because I had to wait until the broker's trial was
over. The Chinese police asked me general questions surrounding the nature of my arrest. For meals, we
were given white rice with soup. During my incarceration, I saw North Korean prisoners being deported
on a bi- weekly basis.
When the broker's trial was finished, I was repatriated to the Onsong bowibu via Namyang. I was held at
the bowibu in Onsong for two and a half weeks. There were 60- 70 prisoners in total. I was strip-searched.
When the agents find money on your body, they give it back to you before you leave - minus
the cost of the food. After the search, I was called in for the preliminary examination ( interrogation) by
the agents. They wanted to know where I lived in China, how and why I was arrested, who I knew and
with whom I spent my time. Fortunately, the Chinese authorities did not send the arrest documents to
the North Korean authorities. The documents would have clearly stated that I was caught trying to
escape to South Korea. I told them I married a Chinese man. They don't care about that because so
many North Korean women nowadays marry Chinese men. They hit only when the prisoner lies or they
think he or she is lying. The prisoners were divided into groups. Each group was in a different room
where we had to sit in a row. For food, we were given corn rice and soup.
I was transferred to the Onsong anjunbu ( boansung) where I waited transport to my next destination.
There were about 50 people at this facility. I was there for three weeks and during my stay, I had to work
in the nearby fields weeding for six hours everyday. It wasn't very hard work. There were four pregnant
women at the anju