Report Details Prison Camps in N. Korea
- Share via
WASHINGTON — A human rights report released Wednesday exposed harsh conditions in North Korean prison camps, where ex-political prisoners and guards described a life of torture and starvation.
The report by the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, which used satellite pictures to pinpoint prisons, estimated that North Korea had 150,000 to 200,0000 political prisoners working as slave laborers in prison colonies.
North Korean authorities have consistently denied that such camps exist.
“Beyond a starvation diet, torture, beatings and inhumane living and working conditions, this regime practices a form of collective punishment where three generations of family members are given life terms along with the family member charged with political crimes,” said David Hawk, author of the report.
The report used testimony from 30 ex-prisoners and guards.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
Madison McGhee is joined by legendary Dateline host Josh Mankiewicz and esteemed L.A. Times Reporter Richard Winton as the three of them dive into all-things Menendez Brothers, the good, the bad, and the still unknown.
NPR climate editor Sadie Babits talks about why the media has long overlooked the climate crisis, and how that’s starting to change.
