Korea may hold 1 million prisoners of conscience

PYONGYANG, North Korea — As many as 1 million people may be imprisoned in North Korea for political and religious reasons, a Christian advocate for persecuted believers has charged.
Eight prison camps for political prisoners most likely contain at least 500,000 and possibly 1 million people, a representative of Open Doors said Oct. 2.

Many North Korean prison camps are so large that in satellite photos, they appear to be cities, not prisons, he said.
Identified only as “Simon,” the worker also said hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are forced to labor in 30 other work camps every day.
At least one-fourth of the country’s estimated 200,000 Christians are imprisoned for their faith, he said. Prisoners of conscience rarely emerge from the camps alive.

“In North Korea, it is strictly forbidden to be a Christian,” said Simon, who is responsible for Open Doors’ work in North Korea. “Anyone who has a Bible is sent to a camp, along with his or her whole family.”