Women and Christians suffer in North Korea's prison camps: from the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series

 

NORTH KOREA’S PRISON CAMPS

 Although my new MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller exposes the Russian influence in the Caribbean, I found out that North Korea has some sway in the region as well, but not nearly as much. There are 6 Latin American and Caribbean countries with trade agreement with the despotic regime, and Pyongyang has been running trade surpluses in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before getting to the horrific prison camps maintained by Kim Jong Un, we must keep in mind his influence in the Caribbean. Remember, in 2013, when Panama famously a North Korean ship en route from Cuba to North Korea that hid military wares underneath Cuban sugar. Surely, North Korea is still in the game!

The plot in the spy thriller MISSION OF VENGEANCE unfolds in the Dominican Republic, and I found out that it maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea. I discovered in the United Nation’s Security Council resolution 2321 that North Korean embassies abroad are used for illicit activities. It really should be no surprise that North Korea has about twice as many embassies abroad as countries have embassies in Pyongyang. In my next spy novel, I will research what goes on in North Korea’s embassies scattered throughout the Caribbean, I promise!

Now, for the horrific prison camps in North Korea:

The internment camps are located in central and northeastern North Korea. They comprise many prison labor colonies in secluded mountain valleys, completely isolated from the outside world. The total number of prisoners is estimated to be 150,000 to 200,000.

North Korea's prison camps are comparable to Nazi Germany's concentration camps! It's hard for me to fathom that President Trump would meet with Kim Jong Un at the DMZ in North Korea, giving this despotic dictator acceptance on the global stage. The United Nation's reported on North Korea's camps, and found them comparable to Nazi Germany's concentration camps. It is commonly believed that the Middle East has the worst persecutions against Christians. But this is not true. More Christian are being slaughtered in North Korea than anywhere else.

Pyongyang has dismissed the UN report, which quotes 100 women who experienced torture, malnutrition, forced labor, sexual violence and murder of new-born children (above photo). It's time for all Western democracies to unite and condemn Kim Jong Um.

The death penalty is routinely administered for many offences, including grand theft, murder, rape, drug smuggling, treason, espionage, political dissidence, defection, piracy, consumption of media not approved by the government and proselytizing religious beliefs that contradict the beliefs of the North Korean regime.

There is very little internet and social media usage. The only countries to ban access around the clock to social networking sites like Facebook are China, Iran, Syria, and North Korea. However, since most North Koreans have zero access to the Internet, China and Iran are the only countries where access to Facebook is actively restricted in a wholesale manner.

North Korean citizens have limited freedom of movement and are prohibited to freely travel around the country, let alone travel abroad. Emigration and immigration are strictly controlled, and Kim Jong Un announced that the North Korean government will treat emigrants from the country as defectors.

Although North Korea has an adequate telephone system, with 1.18 million fixed lines available (2008 data), most phones are only installed for senior government officials. Someone wanting a phone installed must fill out a form indicating their rank, why he/she wants a phone, and how he/she will pay for it.

The ultimate of despotic rule rests in North Korea’s 3 generation rule, where the innocent are severely punished. Citizens there convicted of more serious political crimes are sentenced to life imprisonment, but the subsequent two generations of their family (children and grandchildren) will be born in camps such as the Kaechon internment camp, known as “Camp 14”. It is a specialized labor camp for political prisoners and descendants of alleged criminals.

U.S. Intelligence has satellite imagery of another prison camp in North Korea, known as Camp 22, formally called the Hoeryong concentration camp. It reportedly closed down in 2012 and was a maximum-security area, completely isolated from the outside world.

Camp 22 may have been closed down, but research by Amnesty International on two new North Korean camps, known as kwansilo, showing new guard posts, the upgrading of a crematorium and a progression of the sites' agricultural activities.

Lastly, enjoy this video that uncovers the atrocities in these camps, from the eyes of a North Korean defector who escaped into South Korea:

 

 Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and relishes traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions in his Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION OF VENGEANCE.