North Korea Labor Camps Lock American Journalists Away
Ling, Lee's lives hang in the balance
It pays to be careful exactly where you walk in this world, as most people seem to be into fencing off land which they can never truly own. As a result, a simple nature walk can lead you onto someone's "property." Encroaching on privately owned property can net you a warning and an request to vacate, but wandering onto government territory (or worse, crossing international boundaries without permission) is a much more serious infraction. I'm not talking about a small fine that can be paid with fast cash and cash loans. I'm talking kangaroo trial and imprisonment.
Just such a trespassing has created an international incident between North Korea and the United States. Laura Ling (Wikipedia) and Euna Lee (wiki) have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of North Korea's labor camps. Despite Lisa Ling's pleas for clemency, the future is uncertain for the two U.S. journalists who have been convicted of a "grave crime" against the North Korean regime.
Into the gulag
John Glionna reports for the Los Angeles Times that the two American TV journalists "face a grim future in a notorious gulag system." David Hawk, an expert on North Korean labor camps, claims that hard labor, torture and death are very real possibilities that the Asian-American journalists will face.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee were convicted in North Korea's Central Court of a "grave crime" that has yet to be defined to outsiders. They were arrested this past March and have been sentenced to "12 years of reform through labor," writes Korean Central News Agency, a state-run organization. It is unclear where the women will serve their time, but it is clear that since the Central Court is the country's highest legal authority, there can be no appeal.
Headed for Kyo-hwa-so?
But it may be at Kyo-Hwa-So, which is a re-education reformatory "that is the equivalent of a felony penitentiary in the U.S., as opposed to a county jail or misdemeanor facility," said Hawk.
"It's extremely hard labor under extremely brutal conditions," he continued. "These places have very high rates of deaths in detention. The casualties from forced labor and inadequate food supplies are very high."
"A high stakes poker game"
Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson has called North Korea's verdict part of "a high-stakes poker game." He also added that a deal between Washington and Pyongyang may be in the works.
Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, were arrested along the China-North Korean border on March 17. The pair were reporting on human trafficking by the Kim Jong Il regime, which may have prompted the swift, harsh response from the North Korean government. Groups like Reporters Without Borders believe the verdict was "clearly designed to scare journalists trying to do investigative reporting in the border area between China and North Korea."
What could happen to the women?
"This is tantamount to a death sentence," said Scott Snyder of the Asia Foundation. "There aren't a lot of guarantees in that type of environment. It's different from any prison that exists in the modern-day United States. This is a very sobering challenge for a new administration."
North Korean defector Kim Hyuck has first-hand knowledge, and the news is frightening. He spent seven total months in Kyo-Hwa-So between 1998 and 2000, and he told Glionna and the L.A. Times that prisoners die there frequently.
"It is not an easy place," he said. "Centers for men and women are separate. But even [the] women's place is not comfortable at all… When I was in the center, roughly 600-700 out of a total 1,500 died."
Mining and factory work
Hawk has found that many North Korea labor camps are connected with mining and textile factory operation. Long hours, work criticism and forced memorization of North Korean policy are all common elements. Hyuck, 28, said that escape "is nearly impossible."
"If someone is missing, the rest of us would be put in jail. Nobody can go out. No one can work. If a missing person gets caught, without question they will be shot dead," he said.
"Nobody was successful in escaping. Three tried when I was there, but they all got caught as they couldn't cross the border into China. I was among 23 people put into the center -- and 21 of them died there."
"No responsibility"
Most deaths occurred due to malnutrition and related diseases, Hyuck said. "There is no medication. Officers gave us a powder made of pine tree leaves. That's what they gave us for every disease. It was just to give some sort of comfort."
Rules are strictly enforced at North Korea labor camps, including those relating to food. Hawk pointed out that "the most common violation is trying to steal food of one sort or another. If people eat food that's supposed to be for livestock, it's a violation. Failing to meet your work production quota is another violation. Punishment is severe beatings and forms of torture."
Tragically, he also observed that political prisoners were treated worse than anyone.
"They're taken care of separately by the spy agency of North Korea," he said. "They are beaten so harshly. There is no responsibility for their death."
Make the deal before it's too late
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Seoul, South Korea recently undertook a study in which it was found that public executions are still conducted in the land of Kim Jong Il. Of those polled by the commission, almost 80 percent Koreans had witnessed such executions. Furthermore, 78 percent said they "had heard of torture and maltreatment taking place in detention centers" like Kyo-Hwa-So. Thus, if the United States and the Obama administration are going to make a deal with Pyongyang, they should get it done as quickly as possible.
I offer my condolences to Laura Ling and Euna Lee's families during this difficult time. Hopefully, the country that appears bent to race toward another world war will change course before it's too late to go back. These women should be let go in some form of political arrangement, and at the very least, the charges against them should be made public immediately. The longer North Korea waits, the more they isolate themselves from the rest of the world. If it is necessary (and possible) to use China and Russia as wedges against the North Korea, labor camps and diplomatic assassination, then the Obama administration should put those cards on the table.
It pays to be careful exactly where you walk in this world, as most people seem to be into fencing off land which they can never truly own. As a result, a simple nature walk can lead you onto someone's "property." Encroaching on privately owned property can net you a warning and an request to vacate, but wandering onto government territory (or worse, crossing international boundaries without permission) is a much more serious infraction. I'm not talking about a small fine that can be paid with fast cash and cash loans. I'm talking kangaroo trial and imprisonment.
Just such a trespassing has created an international incident between North Korea and the United States. Laura Ling (Wikipedia) and Euna Lee (wiki) have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of North Korea's labor camps. Despite Lisa Ling's pleas for clemency, the future is uncertain for the two U.S. journalists who have been convicted of a "grave crime" against the North Korean regime.
Into the gulag
John Glionna reports for the Los Angeles Times that the two American TV journalists "face a grim future in a notorious gulag system." David Hawk, an expert on North Korean labor camps, claims that hard labor, torture and death are very real possibilities that the Asian-American journalists will face.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee were convicted in North Korea's Central Court of a "grave crime" that has yet to be defined to outsiders. They were arrested this past March and have been sentenced to "12 years of reform through labor," writes Korean Central News Agency, a state-run organization. It is unclear where the women will serve their time, but it is clear that since the Central Court is the country's highest legal authority, there can be no appeal.
Headed for Kyo-hwa-so?
But it may be at Kyo-Hwa-So, which is a re-education reformatory "that is the equivalent of a felony penitentiary in the U.S., as opposed to a county jail or misdemeanor facility," said Hawk.
"It's extremely hard labor under extremely brutal conditions," he continued. "These places have very high rates of deaths in detention. The casualties from forced labor and inadequate food supplies are very high."
"A high stakes poker game"
Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson has called North Korea's verdict part of "a high-stakes poker game." He also added that a deal between Washington and Pyongyang may be in the works.
Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, were arrested along the China-North Korean border on March 17. The pair were reporting on human trafficking by the Kim Jong Il regime, which may have prompted the swift, harsh response from the North Korean government. Groups like Reporters Without Borders believe the verdict was "clearly designed to scare journalists trying to do investigative reporting in the border area between China and North Korea."
What could happen to the women?
"This is tantamount to a death sentence," said Scott Snyder of the Asia Foundation. "There aren't a lot of guarantees in that type of environment. It's different from any prison that exists in the modern-day United States. This is a very sobering challenge for a new administration."
North Korean defector Kim Hyuck has first-hand knowledge, and the news is frightening. He spent seven total months in Kyo-Hwa-So between 1998 and 2000, and he told Glionna and the L.A. Times that prisoners die there frequently.
"It is not an easy place," he said. "Centers for men and women are separate. But even [the] women's place is not comfortable at all… When I was in the center, roughly 600-700 out of a total 1,500 died."
Mining and factory work
Hawk has found that many North Korea labor camps are connected with mining and textile factory operation. Long hours, work criticism and forced memorization of North Korean policy are all common elements. Hyuck, 28, said that escape "is nearly impossible."
"If someone is missing, the rest of us would be put in jail. Nobody can go out. No one can work. If a missing person gets caught, without question they will be shot dead," he said.
"Nobody was successful in escaping. Three tried when I was there, but they all got caught as they couldn't cross the border into China. I was among 23 people put into the center -- and 21 of them died there."
"No responsibility"
Most deaths occurred due to malnutrition and related diseases, Hyuck said. "There is no medication. Officers gave us a powder made of pine tree leaves. That's what they gave us for every disease. It was just to give some sort of comfort."
Rules are strictly enforced at North Korea labor camps, including those relating to food. Hawk pointed out that "the most common violation is trying to steal food of one sort or another. If people eat food that's supposed to be for livestock, it's a violation. Failing to meet your work production quota is another violation. Punishment is severe beatings and forms of torture."
Tragically, he also observed that political prisoners were treated worse than anyone.
"They're taken care of separately by the spy agency of North Korea," he said. "They are beaten so harshly. There is no responsibility for their death."
Make the deal before it's too late
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Seoul, South Korea recently undertook a study in which it was found that public executions are still conducted in the land of Kim Jong Il. Of those polled by the commission, almost 80 percent Koreans had witnessed such executions. Furthermore, 78 percent said they "had heard of torture and maltreatment taking place in detention centers" like Kyo-Hwa-So. Thus, if the United States and the Obama administration are going to make a deal with Pyongyang, they should get it done as quickly as possible.
I offer my condolences to Laura Ling and Euna Lee's families during this difficult time. Hopefully, the country that appears bent to race toward another world war will change course before it's too late to go back. These women should be let go in some form of political arrangement, and at the very least, the charges against them should be made public immediately. The longer North Korea waits, the more they isolate themselves from the rest of the world. If it is necessary (and possible) to use China and Russia as wedges against the North Korea, labor camps and diplomatic assassination, then the Obama administration should put those cards on the table.
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