600 escapees repatriated from China are sentenced to life in the gulag
Although having received punishment for escaping North Korea, the escapees were once again sentenced to life imprisonment based on North Korean law, permanently isolating the citizens who had contact with the outside world (Image: iStock.com/Patrick Daxenbichler)
Six hundred North Korean escapees who were rounded up last year in China and forcibly repatriated have been given life sentences in political prison camps with no prospect of release, according to a reliable source in the country.
The source, whose identity is withheld for obvious reasons, confirmed that the process of dispatching the last prisoners to the camps was finalized last week.
Given that such harsh sentencing is normally reserved for people who have been in contact with South Koreans or Christians, the punishment this time is clearly designed as a warning to people looking to escape as dissatisfaction grows over the increasingly dire economic conditions.
It came as an afterthought and almost certainly on the direct orders of Kim Jong-un.
The 600 North Koreans had all been detained in China as illegal immigrants. The international community and human rights organizations had hoped that Beijing would take a humanitarian approach and allow them to go to third countries. They were held for a while, until October when the international spotlight went off China at the end of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The detainees were then forced across the border at Hunchun, Tumen, Changbai, and Nanping in Jilin Province, and Dandong in Liaoning Province.
It is customary for the North Korean State Security Department to hold repatriated citizens at its assembly centers where they undergo intensive interrogation. If someone is found to have attempted to reach South Korea, married a Chinese citizen, or had contact with Christians, they are typically sentenced to political prison. The others are sent to re-education camps in their hometowns with relatively short sentences.
The October victims were interrogated in Sinuiju, Hyesan, and Onsong. As expected, some were sent to political camps and others were placed in re-education camps. Among this latter group, a number were released after their families bribed camp managers.
Re-arrest and life sentences
However, in July, all 600 were unexpectedly re-arrested.
The source in North Hamgyong Province heard this news from a security officer who quoted the Law on the Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture, proclaimed in December 2020, and said, “Our Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has issued orders to permanently isolate North Koreans who voluntarily come into contact with the outside world.”
The official reportedly said that Kim Jong-un’s directive was that border-crossers be treated as traitors and sent to political prisons. The logic, he said, was that if treated leniently, there’s no telling that they wouldn’t try to escape across the border again.
There are two types of prisoners in the gulag. Some have fixed sentences, even if they do not themselves know exactly when they will be released. The others are in for life with no chance of release.
Kim’s directive to “permanently isolate” the 600 repatriated people from society is an indication that they belong in the latter category and will never be set free.
At the time of their re-arrest, the families were told that the victims were being taken away for further investigation, the source said. This was in fact the case with some, while others were immediately sent to camps.
During the re-investigation, particular attention was paid to whether they had accessed capitalist videos or the internet, including platforms like YouTube, during their time in China. However, the source stated that in his opinion, this inquiry was merely for show, as the investigations were concluded by mid-July, and all were sent to the gulag.
The source emphasized that most families of the forcibly repatriated defectors are unaware of their relatives’ exact fate. Those who do know are reportedly afraid that they too may be subjected to investigation and possible punishment.
It is not clear where the 600 have been sent but there is speculation that it may be the Chongjin No. 25 Kwanliso, a political prison camp located in Suseong-dong, in the Songpyeong District of Chongjin City in North Hamgyong Province.
Zane is a defector from North Korea. Before defecting in 2022, he worked at a state-run North Korean company based in Russia. Prior to his assignment in Russia, he had worked at the external affairs department of a company affiliated with the DPRK's Escort Bureau. He graduated from Pyongyang University of Architecture.
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