North Korean labor camps

“No one is ever released alive from any total control zones in North Korea. Kim Chang-bom, former Minister of National Defense of North Korea, was detained at Camp No. 22 for the crime of attempted murder of Kim Il-sung. He was stabbed to death in 1989 on a train carrying him to meet Kim Il-sung at the invitation of Kim Il-sung. He is the only prisoner who left the camp alive even though he was eventually murdered outside the camp. There is no prison term and all prisoners are detained there until their death. The dead bodies are brought to the shaft No. 3 where only one cargo coach could move. Once a month, some 20-50 dead bodies are placed at the bottom of the cargo coach and covered by coal to be sent to the power plant in Chongjin which burns the coal together with the dead bodies in a melting furnace. You won’t find any tombs in the camp. This is why no one knows what happens to the dead bodies of prisoners. All cargo coaches are thoroughly searched with hooks so that no one escapes by train. But the cargo coach carrying dead bodies at the bottom is never inspected. It is common knowledge for everyone in the camp that no one leaves the camp alive.” – former camp officer, Camp No. 22