Amnesty International has released new satellite imagery that shows several prison camps in North Korea are expanding. Although new leader Kim Jong Un has attempted to demonstrate that the reclusive country is opening up under his regime, the images are evidence that nation’s gulags are bigger than ever. The mysterious “Camp 16” is now three times the size of Washington D.C. and is believed to house tens of thousands of prisoners and their families. In North Korea, punishment for political crimes extends to several generations; young children and elderly relatives can be imprisoned alongside a family member who the government suspects of unlawful activities. Prisoners at the gulags often receive no trials.
At the prison camps, prisoners are subjected to unspeakable horrors—rape, forced labor, starvation, torture and mass executions are commonplace. An Amnesty International official told CBS News, “We hope that these images may some day find their way into crimes against humanity tribunals … That there is no statute of limitations into the kinds of murders and brutalities that are taking place in these facilities.” To find out ways you can help the people of North Korea, you can visit Amnesty International’s “Get Involved” site, or check out the organization LiNK, a group dedicated to helping North Koreans in the country and those who have escaped …
