Mick Hartley

Tightening up in the prison camps: the latest from the Daily NK.

The North Korean government has instructed prisons around the country to halt all family visits and only accept care packages, Daily NK has learned.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a reporting partner in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK last Wednesday that the authorities issued this directive because of the complicated political situation in the country between mid-March and mid-May, including numerous political events in April.

“Because of warmongering by our enemies, people are being organized to fill out petitions to join the military, and orders have been given to tighten discipline at prisons amid these murky circumstances,” the reporting partner said.

Under those circumstances, Kaechon Concentration Camp has reportedly been paying extra attention to inmates who were apprehended for possessing, viewing or distributing illegal recordings; using illegal mobile phones from overseas; receiving illegal remittances; or attempting to defect.

Those inmates, who are regarded as having subversive and rebellious tendencies and being liable to rise up against the government, have been classified as being among those who should be quickly liquidated in an emergency or war. Given the current political complications, the authorities have concluded that it would be dangeorus to allow inmates to be visited by their family members and have banned such visits.

While inmates are still allowed to receive care packages from their family members, the prisons have been ordered to carefully inspect packages before delivering them to inmates and to withhold packages from inmates who behave rebelliously or exhibit impurity in their attitude, words or deeds, the reporting partner said.

“Since this is an important time for planting vegetables and corn, Kaechon Concentration Camp is sending five or six inmates out every day on the work crew while keeping the rest of the inmates in their cells to study the socialist system and the greatness [of the Kim Dynasty],” the reporting partner said.

I'm once again reminded of Christopher Hitchens talking about his visit to North Korea:

The North Korean state was founded in 1950/51. That's the year 1984 was published for the first time. You think, could it be that someone handed a Korean translation to Kim il Sung and said, "Do you think we could make this fly?"…

Still worth a watch – still relevant – thirteen years on.