I haven't read this yet - but it is likely to be informative and compelling, so I put it up here.

It is taken from this page at the Citizens' ALLiance for North Korea Human Rights.

It is fresh. I was posted there yesterday.


FORUM ____ _____ ________ __


























3. Criminal Procedures and Responsible Organization

Pyeongyang)

IV. Changing Patterns of Torture and Its Cause with the Lapse of Time

Petition for the Improvement of Human Rights by the International Society

The purpose of the research is to examine the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) based on the survey of victims of torture and through which analyze the causes of either improving or worsening human rights situation in the respective country. The Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) conducted interviews with twenty North Korean defectors (9 men and 11 women) who had been incarcerated in various forms of detention facilities in DPRK including political penal-labor colony (PPC, Gwalliso), long-term prison labor camp (LPLC, Gyohwaso), detention center (DC, Jipgyeolso), labor re-education facility (LRF, Rodongdanryeondae) and street orphan concentration facility (SOCF, Kotjebi Suyongso) from 1993 to 2005 and had escaped from DPRK between 2000 and 2005, with a focus on how they had been tortured in the process of interrogation by the National Security Agency (NSA, Gukga-anjeonbowibu), the People’s Safety Agency (PSA, Inmin-boanseong, former Social Safety Agency until 2000), and concentration facilities, etc. Based on the information gathered through the interviews, the NKHR identifies both some favorable changes in human rights situation and several problems that still need urgent redress and presents a few recommendations for the better protection of human rights in DPRK.

With consideration of the special statuses of the interviewees as "defectors," the research was performed on the basis of one-to-one and face-to-face interviewing, which was believed to be more effective in developing rapport with the interviewee and securing more specified and detailed data, compared to the filling up of questionnaires. In addition, this method was very useful in gathering such information as the interviewees would otherwise be reluctant to release in the presence of other people, such as the name of charge or the mobilization of personal connections or the means of survival adopted in the camps including resorting to one’s social position or relationship. The one-to-one interview provided better opportunity to detect the emotional fluctuation of the interviewee to a considerable accuracy, which had been hinted by his/her body language such as the slight changes in voice tone, gestures, facial expressions, etc. As far as the interviewer could catch up with such subtle details and draw out the implications, the one-to-one and face-to-face interview could bring out more benefits than group interview or other non-face-to-face surveys.[1] Interviews were recorded with the approval of the interviewees. In addition, so as not to be too much involved in dealing with matters not directly related to their torture experiences such as living in DPRK, the motives of escaping from the country and living in the third countries (mostly in China), a quasi-schematized interviewing method was adopted using a list of questions that could be flexibly reorganized.

and Related Criminal Procedure

1. Provisions on Prohibition of Torture in International and DPRK Laws

1) International Laws

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights upholds the right to life, liberty and security of person as the cornerstone of the Declaration and the most fundamental rights that are essential to the enjoyment of all other rights. The principle of torture prohibition and the right to fair trial are stipulated from Article 4 to 11. DPRK became a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1981 and has the duty to observe the respective Covenant. ICCPR stipulates the principle of torture prohibition and the right to fair trial from Article 6 through 16.

Let alone her responsibility as a party to the Convention, DPRK cannot be discharged of the duty to prohibit torture, for the right not to be subjected to torture is considered as jus cogens in the international society today, thus making the right not to be reserved, derogated, or restricted, whether or not a country is a party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).

2) DPRK Laws

Article 4 of the revised Criminal Procedure Code of DPRK[2] provides, "The state shall guarantee scientific objectivity, prudence and fairness in dealing with criminal cases." Article 5 stipulates, "The state shall thoroughly protect human rights in handling criminal cases." Article 8 asserts that the principles and methods provided in the law shall be observed in treating and processing criminal cases. Regarding the specific provisions on the investigation of the accused, Article 163 provides that investigation shall be conducted between 8:00 and 20:00. While investigation in other time may be allowed for exceptional cases, the supervision by a prosecutor is required to prevent any illegal conduct in the process of investigation.

To prevent torture in the process of investigation, Article 167 bans forced interrogation by providing that the pretrial board (Yeshimwon) shall not force the accused to testify against himself/herself or to confess guilt. Article 169 provides for the duty of the Pretrial Board to notify the accused of his/her rights after identifying him/her. The rights of the accused listed in Article 170 includes: Firstly, the accused may offer his opinion if he/she does not approve of the charges described in the criminal investigation record; Secondly, the accused himself/herself may present counter proof or demand an intensified investigation, if he/she does not agree with the Pretrial Board; Thirdly, the accused may demand the replacement of personnel including the member of the Pretrial Board. Fourthly, the accused himself/herself may fill in the investigation record or demand the revision or deletion or addition of a certain part of the record; Fifthly, the accused may appeal to the prosecutor when he/she thinks his/her rights are transgressed.

In this regard, DPRK is to be reminded of the provisions of her Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code that are designed to prohibit torture and protect the rights of the accused.

2. Continued Concern on Torture and Recommendation for Improvement

DPRK joined the ICCPR in 1981. Under Article 40 of the Covenant, each country shall submit the first report within two years after ratification and periodic reports every five years. Yet, DPRK has not submitted any report since 1983 (revised report was submitted in 1984).

As international concern on human rights problem in DPRK gets intensified, DPRK submitted her second periodic report in February 2002, 17 years after her first one. After reviewing the report, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRCee) in 2001 concluded that the data presented by DPRK (6 cases from 1998 to 2000) did not seem to reflect reality, taken into account many cases of cruel treatment or torture reported to the Committee. The Committee recommended that DPRK should consider independent investigations on various types of cruel treatment, torture, or other inhumane treatment executed by governmental organizations and should establish a body to oversee all types of incarceration and detention facilities and prevent law enforcement officers from abusing their authority.[3]

The resolution on human rights in DPRK adopted in 2003 by the 59th UN Commission on Human Rights (HRCion) expressed its "deep concern on reports that torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment are continuously occurring" and recommended that DPRK should join human rights organizations that it yet is not a state party, for example the CAT. The resolution also calls for "the DPRK to refrain from sanctioning citizens of the DPRK who have moved to other countries, in particular for humanitarian reasons, and to refrain from treating their departure as treason leading to punishments of internment, inhuman or degrading treatment.[4]

The resolution on human rights in DPRK adopted in 2004 by the 60th UN HRCion reaffirmed what is provided above and called for "cooperation with the UN system in the field of human rights and cooperating without restriction with the thematic procedures of the Commission relevant to the situation of the DPRK, in particular with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, on the question of torture, and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, without restriction."[5] In June 2004, the UN Committee on the Rights of Child expressed concern on the organized violence on the youth in correctional facilities.

The resolution on human rights in DPRK adopted in 2005 by the 61st UN HRCion 2005 reaffirmed the two previous resolutions and added a strong concern on "extra judicial and arbitrary detention, the absence of due process and the rule of law." It strongly urged that "the Government of the DPRK to accept the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea appointed based on the resolution of the 60th UN HRCion, and to extend its full and unreserved cooperation and assistance to the Special Rapporteur in the discharge of his mandate and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Special Rapporteur has free and unlimited access to any person in the DPRK whom he might wish to meet."[6]

Such concerns and recommendations were reaffirmed in the 60th General Assembly in 2005[7] and in the Resolution on Human Rights in DPRK adopted in the Third Commission of the 61st General Assembly in 2006.[8] The Resolution on Human Rights in DPRK adopted by the European Parliament in June 2006 urged the DPRK to "provide remedies against human rights violations, "quoting concerns and recommendations of the UN on torture.[9] Though she is not a state party to the CAT, DPRK has consistently and strongly denied the existence of torture through every official document and announcement.

3. Criminal Procedures and Responsible Organization

The Criminal Procedure Code of DPRK on the whole shows five stages of judicial process: Investigation, pretrial examination, prosecution, trial and execution. Investigator of relevant organization or the prosecutor, if needed, commits investigation (Article 10). Pretrial examination is performed by the investigators of either the PSA or the prosecutor’s office or the NSA or agencies of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces (Article 11). Prosecution is under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor (Article 12), trial the court, and the decision of execution the court (Article 13). The prosecutor is responsible for the supervision of investigation, pretrial examination and trial (Article 14). Investigation in a broad sense comprehends investigation, pretrial examination and prosecution and is under the jurisdiction of the PSA, the Prosecutor’s Office, the NSA and the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces. The PSA is in charge of non-political crimes, the NSA political crimes, the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces crimes of military personnel, and the Prosecutor’s Office any crime committed in the judicial process.

Illegal interrogation and torture committed by the NSA and the PSA has been reported through numerous researches of NGOs and testimonies of the defectors. Though there have been sporadic research reports on the existence and the situation of political prison camps,[10]there still has not been any in-depth report on torture. NKHR has conducted in-depth interviews with a part of defectors, who had experienced or witnessed torture or abuse in the process of interrogation in detention facilities and came to the Republic of Korea in the past 6 years. This report aims to shed light on the specific situation of torture happening in various organizations and regions in DPRK.









1. National Security Agency (Onseong, Hoeryeong, Musan,
Gyeongseong, Shinuiju, Pyeongyang)

1) Onseong County, North Hamgyeong Province (1998~2003)

Bordering on China, Onseong county has been not only a major escaping route for the defectors for the narrow and shallow Tumen River in it, especially in the winter when the river gets frozen, but also the infamous repatriation gate - the Tumen bridge that connects Chinese border area to Namyang district in DPRK - for the defectors arrested in China. Those who have been repatriated from China are interrogated in the Namyang District Security Agency, the Jongseong District Security Agency, etc. in Onseong county, which has more security agencies than any other regions for it receives more repatriated defectors than any other regions. In this report, all the security agencies in Onseong county will be categorized into the Onseong County Security Agency.

KIM Hyuk (ID 5),[12] who had been investigated in the Onseong County Security Agency for three months in 1998, testified that he had been tortured by the so-called ‘pigeon torture’, heated hooks, shovels, etc., cause they tried to accuse him heavily of committing the crime of espionage - illegal guidance for the Chinese, though he was a simple escaper. KIM’s testimony shows that the North Korean authority committed illegal detention of him then aged sixteen by arbitrarily prolonging the period of detention up to eight months (thus 11 months in total) until he became seventeen through the transferring of him from the NSA to the PSA on the pretext of further investigation, ultimately sending him to a LPLC (Gyohwaso).

One thing extraordinary was that when KIM had been sent from the Onseong County Safety Agency to the No.12 LPLC at Jeongeo-ri, Hoeryeong city, for three year’s imprisonment, there was an amnesty releasing about one-third of the prisoners amounting to 2,500. When asked if the amnesty was due to the positive influence of the summit meeting between South and North Korea in June 2000, he asserted that it was a temporary policy taken to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Worker’s Party (KWP, Joseon Rodongdang).

It is uncertain whether and when such a cruel torture as “pigeon torture” was abolished in the Onseong County Security Agency, there has been no evidence of it in the testimonies of six interviewees who had been imprisoned there since 2000.

The cases of SHIN Hyeok-Cheol (ID 10)[13] and KANG Seong-Hwa (ID 17)[14] who were interrogated for ten days and a month each in Onseong County Security Agency, and the other testimonies in different regions show that they were interrogated of some typified items such as the cause of escaping, living and moving routes in China, aid from South Koreans or religious organizations, attempt to go to South Korea, etc. Yet interrogations at night without allowing sleep and forced confession through prevalent violence seems as usual. To extract money or other valuables, women were forced to be naked and do the so-called “pumping”, repeated standing up and sitting down more than hundred times, and their wombs were searched by inserting hands, which shows such inhumane treatment became the rule. Regardless of the investigation of the cause of escaping, some agents even asked them how much money they made in China and if they could bring back the remainder to snatch their money.

In 2003, due to the prevalent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China, repatriated defectors were investigated for relatively shorter terms. According to KIM Jeong-Sook (ID 13),[15] then repatriated defectors amounted up to 850 at one time and they were investigated for less than ten days. However, it is unknown whether such short term of investigation was a temporary phenomenon due to the SARS in China or a revised enforcement of regulations.

However, they testified that though the security agents and guards did not commit violence in the presence of the prisoners, they made prisoners fight with each other or beat other prisoners on behalf of them. PARK Yeong-Hee (ID 19),[16] though she had not been beaten, witnessed a pregnant woman kicked on her belly for having a baby from a Chinese man, causing miscarriage. PARK Yeong-Hee and WON Cheol (ID 15)[17] testified that they had witnessed security agents forcing prisoners to fight with each other or forcing some prisoners to beat others. KIM Jeong-Sook testified that she had seen many prisoners beaten with timbers or steel rods or kicked and heard screaming of other prisoners suffering from horrible torture, but she herself had not been so treated owing to her personal relationship with the head of investigators.

According to WON Cheol, who was thirteen in 2003, he also was forced to sit on the floor with his legs folded and hands on his laps and was beaten when he moved even to the slightest. He had even been fainted after being beaten three times on his face, for he did not answer the guard due to his bad mental condition caused by malnutrition. His mother, who had been arrested with him, was beaten even more relentlessly. It seems that in the Onseong County Security Agency, violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which DPRK also is a party are still prevalent.

2) Hoeryeong City, North Hamgyeong Province (1999~2004)

Among the North Koreans, Hoeryeong City Security Agency was considered to be the most harsh and horrible place. They run the detention centers and other underground prisons to torture political criminals or other espionage criminals, which were known to be horrible beyond description.

According to KIM Gwang-Soo (ID 12),[18] who had been interrogated at the underground cell for nine months from 1999 to 2000, prisons on the ground were for those ordinary escapers and the underground ones were for political criminals or other espionage criminals, which were without guards. They do not care whether the prisoners die or not. After a few hours of beating, the back of his head and all the teeth were broken and his weight decreased from 75 kg to 38kg. Apart from the routine torture, there was an infamous torturing called the "pigeon torture". Hung in the air, bones seemed to break through the bosom and all the muscles seemed paralyzed. In the underground prison, any screaming or torturing pain could be heard or known to those on the ground. Endless torturing and fear for death made him confess falsely and approve of the charge of espionage imposed by the security agency. As the crime of espionage is a serious matter, KIM appealed to the head of the Prosecutor's Office of the City Security Agency that he had to make a false confession for hard torture, but later he was beaten more severely by the investigator. When prosecutors came to the security agency to inspect the reliability of the charges, investigators of the security agency would bribe them to conceal their false charges, so any appeals were initially blocked in reality.

According to LEE Gwang-Il (ID 9)[19] who had been investigated for more than five months in 2002, the Hoeryeong City Security Agency was recruited with guards from places other than Hoeryeong to prevent the guards from having compassion out of personal relationship, so they could treat the prisoners unreservedly. The Chinese Public Security Agency handed over related documents and the investigators committed severe torturing to draw confession on any attempt to go to Korea, forced other prisoners to beat, imposed collective penalty of 500 to 700 times of "pumping" to extract tail-telling. When prisoners die in the course of interrogation, they were reported to have died of heart attack or other disease, thus making torturing unknown.

A few things to be pointed out from LEE's testimony was that, on May 29, 2002, KIM Jung-Il directed the so-called "May 29 Policy" and many prisoners were fired to death. And in November 2002, other policy was executed to distinguish between simple escapers and those who tried to go to Korea; the latter was put into the category called "South Korean Matter". Simple escapers were treated relatively loosely and that was why LEE could be released on sick bail and escape again.

LEE Yeong (ID 18)[20]and LEE Min-Ok (ID 16),[21]who had experienced torture in the Hoeryeong City Security Agency in 2004, testified the hardships women had experienced for water shortage and poor sanitation. In particular, LEE Yeong testified that some were interrogated for more than seven months, which showed the period of detention was randomly prolonged by the security agency. LEE Min-Ok was sent to the PSA after the interrogation in the Security Agency, where she was asked if she had seen such movies as "Shiri" or "Janggunuiadeul (the Son of General)", implying that not a few South Korean movies were circulating in North Korea.

3) Musan County, North Hamgyeong Province (1999~2000)

The case of SHIN Jung-Ae (ID 8),[22]who had gone to ask some help of her relatives in China, was arrested on her way back from China in 1999 and had to get through five months of pretrial at the Musan County Security Agency, shows that even the simple escaper could be given a long-term investigation. She was a simple escaper seeking for some means of subsistence, but was sent to the No.15 Yodeok PPC (Gwalliso) and put to one year's imprisonment due to her familial background as the descendent of the Korean Japanese who had returned to DPRK.

KIM Eun-Cheol (ID 20),[23]who had been imprisoned in the No.15 Yodeok PPC for three years after the pretrial at the Musan County Security Agency in 2000, was one of the seven defectors who had been arrested in Bladivostok, Russia in December 1999 and given the status of refugees through the interviewing with UNCHR, but sent back to DPRK via China. On the way to DPRK from China, he dramatically escaped and concealed himself, but he had to return to his home in Musan, as he had no more place to hide himself, and was arrested by the security agents in ambush in the long run. After being hit with a pistol, he got fainted and was dragged to the Musan County Security Agency. During two months of investigation, he was beaten kneeling on the floor with a log put between his calves or hanging in the air. He could not but give up all the human rights filling up the interrogatory as he was told to. He was detained in the security agency for four months and sent to the No.15 Yodeok PPC. He even heard that the rumor around his hometown was that he had been fired to death.

KIM Chun-Ae (ID 4)[24]who had been investigated in the Musan County Security Agency in 1999 and 2000 testified important changes with respect to the investigation practice at that time. According to her testimony, at the time of June 1999, there was no detention facility in the Musan County Security Agency, so defectors were investigated for a day and sent to the Musan County Safety Agency, but in 2000 there were two detention facilities in the Musan County Security Agency, one for men and another for women, so defectors were investigated for more than a week.

Taken the testimony of SHIN Jung-Ae and KIM Chun-Ae together into account, it was sometime between June and November 1999 that the Musan County Security Agency provided detention facilities for long-term investigation, which implies that the North Korean authority began to systematically deal with the ever increasing defectors. Their testimonies also show that the Musan County Security Agency also forced the prisoners to get naked and do "pumping" to snatch money from them.

Seen from the testimonies, it was in the Musan and Shinuiju County Security Agency in 2000 that the inhumane practice of torturing to snatch money from women appeared for the first time.
4) Gyeongseong County, North Hamgyeong Province (2002~2003)

KANG Seong-Hwa (ID 17)[25] who had been investigated at the Onseong County Security Agency and further investigated for two more months at the Gyeongseong County from 2002 to 2003, testified that the general situation of the Gyeongseong County Security Agency was not different from the Onseong County, as shown by a man who had been tortured and starved to death. Among the twenty interviewees, she was the only one who had been investigated at the Gyeongseong County Security Agency. Hence, NKHR will further look for the defectors who had been in the Gyeongseong County Security Agency and make up this report.

Something to be pointed out with respect to her testimony was that there had been a rumor around the Gyeongseong County Security Agency that KIM Jung-Il had ordered not to snatch money from the escapers, for they would escape to China again, if their money was taken away. Yet, she added a provision to her testimony that such a rumor might not have been true, but there were some public officers who had spread such rumors.

With respect to her testimony, there also had been some news reports in Korea around 2002 that KIM Jung-Il had begun to execute somewhat moderate policy toward defectors. But, according to the recent testimonies, such inhumane practices in detention centers and prisons as sexual abuses or snatching money by force had never been changed for the better around and even after 2002. It seems probable that the rumor was groundless, as KANG added. Of course, it also is possible that lower level governmental organizations did not put into practice the order of KIM Jung-Il.

5) Shinuiju City, North Pyeongan Province (1998~2004)

Like the Onseong County Security Agency and the Hoeryeong City Security Agency bordering China along with the Tumen River, the Shinuiju City Security Agency bordering China along with the Yalu River also receives many defectors repatriated from the Dandong Detention Center in China, for it is located in the nearest city to China.

According to the testimony of PARK Eun-Cheol (ID 2)[26]who had been investigated at the Shinuiju City Security Agency for two months in 1998, the Shinuiju City Security Agency was infamous for its brutal treatment of those repatriated from China. Even though he was only sixteen, he was forced to sit upright all day, beaten relentlessly and sent to the provincial level detention center after the investigation.

KANG Won-Cheol (ID 1),[27]who had been investigated for a week in 1999, was the same aged minor with PARK Eun-Cheol, but differently from Park, he testified that he had been forced to sit upright all day without beating.

Investigation was focused on address, age, date of escaping, reason for escaping, etc. However, KANG was investigated at the Shinuiju City Security Agency for a week for the first time, sent to the Shinuiju DC (Jipgyeolso) and investigated for a day for the second time, sent to the Nongpo DC in Cheongjin City and investigated more intensively for the third time during his detention for three months, and sent to the Musan County Safety Agency and investigated briefly for the fourth time. Though he was a minor, he was investigated and punished nonetheless severely for his age. His case implies that at that time documents on the repatriated were not handed over from China to DPRK unless the North Korean authorities requested and the information network among the governmental organizations in DPRK functioned very loosely until August 1999, to a minimum.

Beginning 2000, it seemed that the Chinese security agencies also strengthened the investigation process. PARK Sun-Ja (ID 7),[28]who had been arrested in Dalien, China, sent to the Shinuiju City Security Agency and investigated for a week, testified that she had been interrogated very intensively for a month of the reason for escaping and those who had helped her. Afterwards, when she was sent to the Shinuiju City Security Agency, she was charged of a political crime after a week's brief investigation without any serious torturing, which implies that it was quite probable that the Chinese security agencies actually began to hand over the documents to DPRK since August 1999. Concerning the legal foundation for such cooperation between the two countries, it seems quite probable that there had been a secret agreement between the security agencies of the two countries with respect to the providing of document and picture of defectors. She testified that the Shinuiju City Security Agency also executed various and routine torturing methods such as inhumane treatment for women, "pumping", beating, kicking, etc., as other security agencies did at that time.

JI Hae-Nam (ID 6),[29]who had been investigated for twenty days in the same year, testified that the security agents beaten relentlessly and committed sexual abuses to pretty women after putting them in isolation cell. Though women were less severely tortured than men, sexual abuses and inhumane treatment of them seemed more serious.

OH Soon (ID 14)[30]who had been in the Shinuiju City Security Agency in 2003 and LEE Min-Ok (ID 16),[31]who had been there in 2004, also testified that the security agents forced them to do "pumping" to snatch money from women. OH testified that she had been investigated once a week for two months and beaten when she showed any strange action while using the makeshift toilet in the cell, that could be seen from outside and be used upon permission from the cell guard. One thing to be pointed out is that when she was arrested by the Chinese Public Security Agency, she pleaded them and they changed the document removing the record that she had attempted to go to South Korea. Though rarely did the Chinese Public Security Agency show compassion for the defectors, they seemed to notice that the repatriated would be fatally punished for their attempt to go to South Korea.

6) Headquarter of Security Agency in Pyeongyang (2000)

Among the twenty interviewees that NKHR interviewed, LEE Kwang-Cheol (ID 11),[32]the only witness who had been investigated at the Headquarter of Security Agency (HSA, Bowisaryeongbu) in Pyeongyang, was arrested in charge of stealing antiques in July 2000. Soon after the summit meeting between the South Korean President KIM Dae-Jung and the North Korean Leader KIM Jung-Il, the HSA in Pyeongyang had been heard to take over the responsibilities of both the NSA and the PSA.

Shortly after being arrested, he was pulled to the PSA at Daeseong District, Pyeongyang, where he was investigated for fifteen days, and was sent to the detention center at the Headquarter of NSA, where he was further investigated and tortured for more than two months. Though he was a minor, he was tortured severely: Being beaten standing on his head, being beaten lying on his face with his fingers cuffed, being beaten with logs with hands cuffed and tied to the water pipe. He was beaten mostly at night by several security agents by turns and also was beaten at daytime lying on his face with a blanket covered on his body, lest any noise should go out. Ten-centimeter long scars are still remaining so vividly on both wrists and even at the present time he cannot keep himself seated for more than three hours due to the wound on his waist and spine caused by beating six years ago.

2. People’s Safety Agency (PSA)

1) Musan County, North Hamgyeong Province (1997~2003)

In general, the repatriated are investigated at the NSA at first. But, it was found out that the PSA also had carried out the investigation of the repatriated at their detention centers for a certain period of time.

The Musan County Security Agency seemed to have taken the charge of investigation and pretrial for the repatriated until November 1999. Comparing the testimonies of KIM Chun-Ae (ID 4)[33]and SHIN Jung-Ae (ID 8),[34]who had been in the Musan County Security Agency, it was probable that the Musan County Security Agency provided its own detention facility to deal with the explosively increasing number of defectors, sometime between August and November 1999.

When there was no detention facility at the security agency in Musan County, SHIN Hyeok-Cheol (ID 10)[35]was imprisoned in the safety agency for three months after being repatriated from China in 1997. According to his testimony, the Musan County Safety Agency seemed not to have executed severe torture in the process of investigation until 1997. Once he had been beaten not by the safety agent but by the cell guard, he threatened them to report to the higher organization, say, the Prosecutor's Office and they released him after a brief investigation.

PARK Yeong-Hee (ID 19)[36]had been classified into the category of simple escaper in the process of investigation at the Onseong County Security Agency for twenty days in 2003, so she was not investigated further at the safety agency. After the investigation at the security agency, she had been imprisoned temporarily at the Musan County Safety Agency via the Cheongjin DC (Jipgyeolso) before she was sent to the Musan LRF (Rodongdanryeondae). However, with the help of one of her family members, a high-ranking party cadre, she offered a bribe and was released from the Musan County Safety Agency. Her case shows that offering bribes becomes routine in the process of investigation, though limited to the simple escapers.

2) Hamju County, South Hamgyeong Province (1993)

The PSA (the former Social Safety Agency until 2000) is primarily responsible for the maintenance of social stability and discipline rather than the investigation and punishment of defectors, as shown by the testimony of JI Hae-Nam (ID 6)[37]who had been in the Hamju County Safety Agency in 1993. She was charged of singing a South Korean song titled "Don't Cry Hongdo (Hongdoya Uljimara)", a piece of music in the North Korean art film titled "Nation and Destiny V". She was tortured and sexually harassed repeatedly during the pretrial at the Hamju, Myeongcheon, and Hwaseong County Safety Agency.

Though there had been a decision from a higher organization that mere singing indecent song might not be the object of pretrial, the lower organizations took various false charges on her to evade their responsibility of excessive punishment and sentenced her to three years of imprisonment in the No.1 Gaecheon LPLC (Gyohwaso). After two years of forced labor, she was released due to the so-called "benediction from the leader". Branded as a criminal, she could not live in North Korea any more, so she decided to escape in 1998. A simple mistake of singing a South Korean song made her a criminal.

NKHR will perform further research in the changing situation of the Hamju County Safety Agencies through more extended interviews with defectors.

2. Other Facilities (Provincial Detention Center, Labor Re-education Facility)

1) Provincial Detention Center at Songpyeong District, Cheongjin City,
North Hamgyeong Province (2000~2002)

According to the Criminal Code of DPRK, interrogation at the DC (Jipgyeolso), snatching money, torture and violence are considered to be illegal. However, the interviews verified that illegal interrogation at DC, inhumane treatment of the suspects such as stripping off and snatching money, infanticide and torture had been prevalent.

According to the testimony of KIM Chun-Ae (ID 4),[38]who had been pulled to the Cheongjin DC in July 2000, the DC began to function as kind of waiting room based on the KIM Jung-Il's direction in 2000. After finishing the first investigation session at the state security agencies near border, defectors were detained at the concentration facilities until sent to the state security agencies and the people’s safety agencies at their residential areas for intensified investigation.

However, no interviewees considered the concentration facilities as simple waiting rooms. To snatch money from her, KIM Chun-Ae was stripped off and made to do "pumping" at the DC. Generally speaking, defectors are sent to the concentration facilities via the state security agencies or the people’s safety agencies or the labor re-education facilities (Rodongdanryeon-dae), so hardly can they hide any money until they arrive at the concentration facilities. Nevertheless, they do the same investigation at the concentration facilities to prevent any money provided by families or relatives from sneaking into the concentration facilities for bribe or fund for escaping. KIM testified that she had seen a baby covered with a blanket and suffocated to death. She added that she had worked in the field growing corn and cabbage with fertilizer from foreign countries, at a later date, one of the guards put a bug in her ears that it had come from South Korea as a present for KIM Jung-il.

SHIN Hyeok-Cheol (ID 10)[39]testified that he had been investigated at the Cheongjin DC the same as at the NSA and the PSA and a man who had been captured while escaping had been severely beaten to half-death at the DC.

It is not certain from the research this time whether or not other DC also performed illegal investigation and torture as the Cheongjin DC did. NKHR will perform further research in this matter.

2) Labor Re-education Facility at Musan County, North Hamgyeong
Province (1999~2000)

Interviews show that there was illegal investigation and torture even at the LRF as at the DC. Formally the LRF was designed for the edification of criminals through laboring, but actually it was a temporary facility to extract unpaid labor for the cultivation of field served for the safety agents or some urgent construction works. Hence, the location of the LRF varies as the place that needs labor force varies.

KIM Chun-Ae (ID 4),[40]who had been in the Musan County LRF in 1999, testified that her daughter had been pulled by an agent and investigated and tortured for an hour. With the help from her family, she could escape, but her remaining daughter was investigated whether or not she also had attempted to escape and beaten more severely, being beaten on the head with a chair, for example.

One year after in 2000, she was once again pulled to the Musan County LRF. Lest her own daughter should be tortured, she lied about her daughter's age and her residential address. The agents in charge took her daughter to the dining room and she returned in an hour, blue from being beaten. One man from Gaeseong City was beaten more relentlessly, maybe because he came from other city.

There were a few safety agents who had sense of compassion and other safety agents also were not so relentless as before. It was shortly after the inspection from the Central Committee of the KWP, so they were cautious about their behavior. However, they picked up some prisoners as line leaders or room leaders and made them beat other prisoners. Or sometimes they made the prisoners beat each other. Interviewees added that such practice was a routine in prisons even before 1990's.

One thing to be pointed out is that some prisoners were mobilized to cultivate the field at Dokso-ri, Musan County, where the safety agency grew opium.




1. Before 1999: Presumption of Culpability and Total Dependence
on Torture

In general, until 1999, it had been a rule to resort to torture in the process of investigation of crimes, either ordinary crime or otherwise including escaping from North Korea. The process of investigation at the NSA or the PSA (the former Social Safety Agency) depended mostly on torture and arbitrary prolonging of the period of detention. In fact, the Criminal Code was totally ignored and the investigators endeavored to extract confession that could support their charges that had been already provided by themselves.

2. 1999~2002: Reorganization of the NSA and Division of
Responsibility among Relevant Organizations

It is estimated that it was sometime between 1999 and 2002 that the regulatory system for the defectors was reorganized and strengthened. As defectors increased enormously, a series of policy seemed to have been adopted to investigate and punish them systematically. The fact that a detention facility was set up at the Musan County Security Agency sometime between July and November 1999 supports the estimation.

It also was known from when the Chinese Public Security Agency began to hand over the documents on defectors to North Korea when they repatriate the defectors. Comparing the testimonies of defectors who had been repatriated at different time, it seems that the Chinese Public Security Agency actually handed over the documents to North Korea regularly since August 1999. Concerning the legal foundation for such cooperation between the two countries, it seems quite probable that there had been a secret agreement between the security agencies of the two countries with respect to the providing of document and picture of defectors.

Since 2000, the inhumane treatment for women began to be prevalent. It seems that the so-called "pumping" with nothing on became a typical means of investigation at that time. The two isolated State Security Agencies, for example, the Shinuiju City Security Agency in North Pyeongan Province and the Musan County Security Agency in North Hamgyeong Province, all used such means in their investigation practices. Yet, some interviewee said that such means had been used in late 1990's to snatch money from defectors.

As the Concentration center began to be temporarily used for waiting room since 2000, those who had been repatriated were detained after the primary investigation at the NSA until they were sent to the relevant organizations or prisons in their residential areas. It seems that the process of investigation and punishment was set up as the following pattern around 2000: National Security Agency in border areas – (People’s Safety Agency in border areas) – Provincial Detention Center (or Political Prisoner Camp) – Labor Re-education Facility (or investigation organization in residential area).

The process of investigation totally dependent on torture seemed to have been replaced by a more systematic one around 2000. Since then, the typical items of investigation, for example, the cause of escaping, living in China, traveling route, aid from South Korean or religious organization, attempt to go to South Korea, etc., generally appeared in the testimonies. Though it might be understood as a natural response to the ever increasing number of defectors, it also was followed the concomitant effect of shortening the average length of investigation due to the typified investigation items.

3. 2002~2003: From Raised Severity to Moderate Punishment for
Simple Escapers

Testimonies show different estimation whether the punishment of defectors was lightened or not around 2002. As some testimonies show, many defectors had been executed based on the so-called "May 29 Policy" in 2002 and those from other districts to carry out strict investigation and prevent bribe had replaced the security agents.

However, soon around the end of 2002, there seemed to have been some change with respect to the policy. Some testimonies show the indirect evidences: KIM Jung-Il promulgated a policy to distinguish between simple escapers and the so-called "South Korean Matter", those who had ever attempted to go to Korea; KIM Jung-Il ordered not to snatch money from the escapers, for they would escape to China again, if their money was taken away; KIM Jung-Il said, "Even if they go to other country and wear foreign clothes, as far as they embrace the desire for the reunification of fatherland, it also is a good thing"; "If their money is taken away, they will go to China again, so do not snatch money from them."

Yet, another testimony added, "Such a rumor might not have been true, but there were some public officers who had spread such rumors." To sum up, simple escapers seemed to have been punished less severely than before. However, even though the security agents less resorted to torture, they did more to making the prisoners beat one another.

4. 2004~2006: Revision of the Criminal Code and the Criminal
Procedure Code, Yet Reserved Estimation for the
Actual Improvement in Investigation Practice

Apart from the policy lightening the punishment of defectors since late 2002, it is still uncertain whether or not there had been substantial improvement in the investigation practice after the revision of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code in 2004 and the partial amendment of the both in 2005.

At least, according to the testimony of LEE Min-Ok (ID 16), who was investigated after April 2004, she was investigated at the Shinuiju City Security Agency for three days for the first time, at the Hoeryeong City Security Agency for fifty three days for the second time after being transferred from Shinuiju to her residential place, and at the Hoeryeong City Safety Agency for six days for the third time, total length of investigation amounting to more than two months.[41]

For some temporary reasons such as SARS in Spring 2003, defectors were repatriated in great numbers up to 850 in a day, so the length of investigation was between ten days and a month. However, after that period, the length of investigation began to be prolonged. Forfeiting of interrogatory or signature was not found in the testimonies, implying that the provisions of Article 174 and Article 175 of the Criminal Procedure Code, method of filling up the interrogatory and suspect's confirmation, seemed to be observed. However, it should be noticed that most lower level investigation organizations resorted to torture and beating to extract confession and signature instead of forfeiting the interrogatory or signature.







Though the North Korean human rights issues had been made known to the international society by the Amnesty International since 1970s and some reports had been publicized intermittently, they had been dealt with by the Sub-committee on Human Rights of the UN until the Autumn of 1999, thus public consensus being not given. It was since the opening of annual international conference at NGO level in December 1999 that mass media and the international society began to pay attention to the North Korean human rights issues. With respect to torture, the subject matter of this report, there would not have been any improvement, if there had not been for the collective demand and petition from the international society.

In December 1999, NKHR and the Chosun Ilbo (Daily Press) co-hosted 「The 1st International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Seoul, Korea)」and attracted remarkable concern from the international society. Then, the North Korean official media criticized the conference as “a deceptive trick to cover up their despicable crimes and mislead public opinion only to be ridiculed by the world people”, “a mockery and insult to human conscience and as shameless an act as a thief crying ‘stop the thief’”, “anti-DPRK smear campaign”, and it retorted that “they should make an apology for their crimes of worsening the inter-Korean relations and barring national reconciliation”.[42]

However, the international conference provided such a good opportunity for the international society as to establish an international network, i.e., NKHR's Friends Network, composed of about 140 professionals from ten countries and hold another international conference in Japan with the specific issue of the situation of political prisoner camps in North Korea. As international concern rose up, DPRK began to respond to it. DPRK had joined the ICCPR in 1981 and, under Article 40 of the Covenant, she submitted her first one in 1983 and the revised one in 1984, but did not submit any periodic report one since then. In December 25, 1999, DPRK submitted the second periodic report to the UN, showing cooperative attitude toward the UN and the international society.[43]KIM Chun-Ae (ID 4), who had been at the Cheongjin DC (Jipgyeolso) and the Musan LRF (Rodongdanryeondae) at that time, testified that the safety agents were not so relentless as before, cause it was shortly after the inspection from the Central Committee of KWP (Joongangdang) , so they were cautious about their behavior.

When 「The 2nd International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Seoul, Korea)」was held intensively dealing with the defectors at the bordering area between DPRK and China and the human rights situation of the North Korean women defectors, DPRK denied the very existence of defectors through the official comment, “There is no ‘issue of refugees’ between the DPRK and China”, saying, "It is true that many compatriots travel across the border between the two countries to visit their home towns and relatives as many Koreans live in the northeastern area of China. These travelers can never be called ‘refugees’”. KCNA, the North Korean official media, strongly insisted; “If there be any issue of border trespassers, it is the matter pertaining to the sovereignty, of the two countries that should be settled by them. This is the publicly recognized international practice.”[44]

Contrary to the North Korean denial, evidences and testimonies against DPRK were being gathered after the conference and worrisome concern from the international society began to be intensified. Hence, DPRK again adopted some responsive measure to show cooperative attitude joining the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in February 27, 2001.

「The 3rd International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Tokyo, Japan)」co-hosted by NKHR and the Working Committee in Japan, in February 2002, intensively raised the issue of sexual abuse of the North Korean women defectors. In detail, the conference dealt with the subjects of women's human rights and protection of them, for example, forced abortion, infanticide, etc. Prior to the conference, the Human Right Without Frontiers, a Belgian NGO, made public the above-mentioned issues and, consequently, DPRK vehemently blamed it as a false report to hurl mud at the North Korea. “There can be no ‘concentration camp in the DPRK as it is a man-centered society where man is valued most. There is, therefore, no need to refer to the desperate anti-north diatribe.”[45]However, DPRK submitted the first report on the implementation of the CEDAW on September 11, 2002.[46]But, the report did not mention anything about the situation of North Korean women defectors.

It seems that it was since the end of 2002 that the pressure from the international society began to have substantial effect to a certain extent. Some testified that KIM Jung-Il had directed to lighten the punishment of simple escapers and an inspection group from the Central Committee of the KWP (Joongangdang) had inspected the National Security Agencies and the People’s Safety Agencies throughout the country. It probably was to abolish the corruption of security agents, safety agents, and border guards and renew the discipline of judicial organizations, restricting illegal investigation and torture, though temporary. According to the testimony of KANG Seong-Hwa (ID 17), who had been imprisoned for a year's term at the Oro LRF (Rodongdanryeondae) in Hamheung City in early 2003, she was given a month's reduction of penalty in the Autumn of 2002 and two or three agents in black suites, who seemed to come from the central governmental organizations, came to the camp in a car and inspected how many corn grains were in the soup and ordered the agents to do correctly. The North Korean leader and the central governmental organizations seem to have difficulty in inspecting illegal investigation practices and human rights situation in the lower-level investigation organizations and gathering information from the international society and the reports from NGOs.

In spite of the enhanced concern of the international society, the North Korean authority denied the very existence of the human rights problem, did not show any will to correct the wrong practices, and made it hard to comprehend the human rights situation in DPRK, improved or otherwise, so the 59th session of the UN HRCion passed the Resolution on the North Korean Human Rights in April 2003. The North Korean representative to the UN expressed complete rejection of the resolution when presented by EU, blaming it as "a challenge to the socialist system of DPRK based on the Juche Ideology”.

As the Resolution was passed and the North Korean human rights issues became a pending issue for the international society, DPRK submitted her second periodic report on the implementation of the CRC on May 16, 2003, which had been delayed for four years. (first report was submitted in 1994).[47] The North Korean authorities unprecedentedly invited three commissioners of the UN Children's Rights Committee before the opening of the 60th session of the UN HRCion in April 2004 and the opening of the session of the review committee of children's rights in June 2004. Though such action was confined to the areas of women's human rights and children's human rights that DPRK felt relatively confident in, thus not comprehending the areas of civil and political rights including torture, it nevertheless was considered to be a positive change for DPRK to actively participate in the execution of the recommendations and duties of the UN.

However, DPRK continually denied accepting the Resolution of 2003, so the 60th UN HRCion adopted another Resolution in April 2004 and established the system of Special Rapporteur to overcome the limit of authority to investigate a certain country. Before the voting, North Korean representative rebuked it as ‘an unprecedentedly vicious intervention into the domestic affairs of DPRK both in form and substance, couched in the anti-DPRK policy of the U.S.’ and added, ‘It would be a nonsense that EU could frighten us with the Resolution’.

On the other hand, though DPRK emphasized a stubborn attitude toward any attempt to intervene her own system, she revised the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code in April and May 2004, and partially amended the both in July 2005. The revised Criminal Procedure Code included provisions for the protection of human rights such as shortened period of detention, period of detention for prosecution and trial, arrest by warrant, prohibition of collecting evidences by forced or entrapped confession, etc., which were not included in the previous Criminal Procedure Code. In addition, prohibition of repeated investigation (Article 150), prohibition of nighttime interrogation (Article 163), notification of rights to suspect (Article 169), limit of the length of detention for witness (Article 227), prohibition of arrest in trial court (Article 283), reduction of the period of the first and second trials (Article 287, Article 366), etc. could be evaluated as positive change in the field of human rights protection.[48]Such obvious change was possible due to the demands from the UN and the international society.

However, such formal changes in legal codes cannot guarantee the substantial protection of human rights for the North Korean and some criticized that as far as there is no change in the nature and function of the Criminal Procedure Code that serve the maintenance of the socialist system and the proletarian dictatorship.[49]It still needs continued watch whether the human rights situation of the defectors proves or not by such institutional revision.

As seen above, DPRK has nominally maintained a negative attitude toward the demand of international society, but she in fact has shown some positive changes such as the submitting of report on the human rights situation in DPRK, the joining of new international human rights convention, the revision of related laws, the policy of lightening the punishment of defectors, etc. In short, continued monitoring by NGOs and demand from the international society function effectively to draw positive changes and cooperation from DPRK.

The Citizens’ Alliance for North Koran Human Rights (NKHR) recommends that DPRK, China, South Korea and the UN consider the following recommendations and exert more efforts to put them into practice, to eliminate torture, a serious threat to human rights that has been prevalent in DPRK.

1. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

■ We recommend that DPRK thoroughly observe the provisions of human rights protection as provided in the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

■ We recommend that DPRK hear about the reality of torture directly from the victims of torture.

■ We recommend that DPRK abolish the underground prison where serious torture is performed.

■ We recommend that DPRK receive the necessary aid for the improvement of detention facilities from the international society.

■ We recommend that DPRK join and observe the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

2. People’s Republic of China

■ We recommend that China observe the principle of prohibition of forced repatriation as provided in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and cooperate with the UN and her neighboring countries to protect the North Korean defectors.

■ We recommend that China stop the inhumane practice of handing over the investigation documents to DPRK when repatriating.

■ We recommend that China stop the systematic expulsion of the North Korean defectors, modern version of race-clearing, and the oppression of activists working in China for her own national interest under the cloaking of preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

3. Republic of Korea

■ We recommend that the National Human Rights Commission of Korea promptly embark on the investigation of victims of torture through the North Korean defectors, those who want to settle in South Korea or those under the custody of the Korean governmental organizations overseas or those already in Korea.

■ We recommend that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other governmental organizations overseas prepare necessary institutional means to collect evidences of torture, visible or invisible, from the defectors under their custody, and provide appropriate medical care for those in need before their entry in South Korea.

■ We recommend that the relevant governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Health and Welfare provide specified medical service system for the victims of torture so as to they can cure their aftereffects.

4. The United Nations

■ We recommend that the UN maintain and even strengthen the special procedure of Country Rapporteur under the reorganized system of the HRC.

■ We recommend that the UN exert more efforts to persuade those countries like China not to repatriate the North Korean defectors and provide various ways of cooperation, including raising fund, among those countries that are in favor of the protection of them.




* This article is a summary of the report on the situation of Torture in DPRK, North Korea: Republic of Torture (Seoul: NKHR, 2007).

[1]Regarding the research method targeting the North Korean defectors, see CHOI Bong-Dae, “Method of Interviewing the North Korean Defectors”, Research Method of North Korean Studies, University of North Korean Studies ed. (Seoul: Hanul Academy, 2003), pp.306~334.

[2]The 10th Partial Amendment of Criminal Procedure Code of DPRK (July 26, 2005).

[3]The 72nd UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR/CO/72/PRK (August 27, 2001).

[4] The 59th UN Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2003/L.31/Rev.1 (April 15, 2003).

[5] The 60th UN Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2004/31 (February 17, 2004).

[6] The 61st UN Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2005/32 (December 22, 2005).

[7] The 60th UN General Assembly, A/C.3/60/L.48 (November 2, 2005).

[8] The 61st UN General Assembly, A/C.3/61/L.37 (November 2, 2006).

[9] European Parliament, North Korea: Human Rights Violations (Strasburg: June 15, 2006).

[10] See David Hawk, The Hidden Gulag (New York: U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2003).

[11] Acronyms: NSA (National Security Agency, Gukga-anjeonbowibu); PSA (People’s Safety Agency, Inminboanseong); DC (Detention Center, Jipgyeolso); LRF (Labor Re-education Facility, Rodongdanryeondae).

[12] KIM Hyuk, “Prisoners Are Still Human Beings”, The 5th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Warsaw, Poland) (Seoul: NKHR, 2004), pp.18-21; NKHR Interview (January 31, 2005 / June 25, 2006).

[13] NKHR Interview (June 6, 2006).

[14] NKHR Interview (June 14, 2006).

[15] NKHR Interview (June 23, 2006).

[16] NKHR Interview (June 5, 2006).

[17]NKHR Interview in Bangkok, Thailand (March 27, 2005); WON Cheol, “What a Young North Korean Has To Go Through”, Life and Human Rights in North Korea, Vol.39 (Seoul: NKHR, Spring 2006), pp.16-19.

[18] NKHR Interview (June 15, 2006).

[19] NKHR Interview (March 10 / June 18, 2006).

[20] NKHR Interview (March 10 / June 18, 2006).

[21] NKHR Interview in Bangkok, Thailand (December 20, 2004).

[22] NKHR Interview at the 2nd Monthly Meeting (June 25, 2004); SHIN Jung-Ae, “From Japan to North Korea and then to South Korea”, Life and Human Rights in North Korea, Vol.33 (Seoul: NKHR, Autumn 2004), pp.22-28.

[23] NKHR Interview (August 8, 2006); KIM Eun-Cheol, “After Repatriation: Three Years in Yodok”, Life and Human Rights in North Korea, Vol.41 (Seoul: NKHR, Autumn 2006), pp.12-19.

[24] NKHR Interview (February 8, 2005 / June 10, 2006).

[25] NKHR Interview (June 14, 2006).

[26] PARK Eun-Cheol, “Chinese Jail, Better than North Korea”, The 6th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Seoul, Korea), (Seoul: NKHR, 2005), pp.126-127.

[27]KANG Won-Cheol, “The Horror of the North Korean Detention Center”, Life and Human Rights in North Korea, Vol.30 (Seoul: NKHR, Autumn 2003), pp.27-31; NKHR Interview (December 7, 2006).

[28] PARK Sun-Ja, “I Witnessed Infanticide in North Korea”, The 6th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Seoul, Korea) (Seoul: NKHR, 2005), pp.160-161.

[29]JI Hae-Nam, “Human Rights Violation by the North Korean Regime”, The 4th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Prague, Czech Republic) (Seoul: NKHR, 2004), pp.107-112.

[30] NKHR Interview in Bangkok, Thailand (April 12, 2004).

[31] NKHR Interview in Bangkok, Thailand (December 20, 2004).

[32] NKHR Interview (June 2, 2006).

[33] NKHR Interview (February 8, 2005 / June 10, 2006).

[34] NKHR Interview at the 2nd Monthly Meeting (June 25, 2004); SHIN Jung-Ae, “From Japan to North Korea and then to South Korea”, Life and Human Rights in North Korea, Vol.33 (Seoul: NKHR, Autumn 2004), pp.22-28.

[35] NKHR Interview (June 6, 2006).

[36] NKHR Interview (June 5, 2006).

[37]JI Hae-Nam, “Human Rights Violation by the North Korean Regime”, The 4th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (Prague, Czech Republic) (Seoul: NKHR, 2004), pp.107-112.

[38] NKHR Interview (February 8, 2005 / June 10, 2006 / March 23, 2006).

[39] NKHR Interview (June 6, 2006).

[40] NKHR Interview (February 8, 2005 / June 10, 2006).

[41] Regarding the specific provisions on the investigation of the accused, Article 151 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the whole investigation shall be finished within two months, and (2) A investigation of the case which could be sentenced to imprisonment in LRF (Rodongdanryeon-hyeong) shall be finished within 10 days, and the additional investigation within seven days if a court send back the case to the pretrial board. However, Article 152 of the same law prescribes that in the case of complicated criminal offences whose investigation would exceed the period mentioned in Article 151(1), but under inevitable circumstances are subject to imprisonment in LRF, investigation can be prolonged up to a month with the prosecutor's approval. This prolongation of one month is possible when the investigation period of crime subject to LRF shall take more than the period stipulated accordingly in Article 151(2). Therefore as in the case of Min-ok LEE who was subject to LRF, the maximum period of investigation is limited to a month and seventeen days.

[42] See “KCNA on South Korean Venal Paper’s ‘Human Rights’ Rhetoric”, <Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)> (December 2, 1999); “North Korean Human Rights Issue Tells Its Opening Path”, <Chosun Ilbo NK Report>, No.19 (February 26, 2001).

[43] See CCPR/C/PRK/2000/2 (May 4, 2001).

[44] See “Anti-DPRK Propaganda in South Korea”, <KCNA> (December 23, 2000).

[45] See “Sheer Lie Refuted”, <KCNA> (January 18, 2002).

[46] See CEDAW/C/PRK/1 (September 11, 2002).

[47] See CRC/C/65/Add.24 (November 5, 2003).

[48] National Court Administration, North Korean Criminal Law (Seoul: 2006), pp.376-377.

[49] LEE Baek-Gyu, “Estimating the revision of the North Korean Criminal Procedure Code”, Studies on North Korean Laws, Vol.8 (Seoul: 2005), p.183.  

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