An unprecedented conference was recently held in Seoul, focusing on the abusive reality of North Korea’s human rights violations as relayed by the perpetrators themselves rather than the victims. The event underscored the systematic nature of oppression in the country and the need for a unique and determined response.
The event saw defectors who previously served as officials belonging to the Ministry of People’s Security (North Korea’s police force) and Group 109 (a department that suppresses anti-socialist activity) in North Korea confess their past involvement in human rights violations. The evening was co-hosted on December 19 by the organizations North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity and Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. Despite the diverse experiences of the speakers and the spectrum of human rights violations described, each speaker consistently stated that Kim Jong Un is ultimately responsible for every crime against humanity in North Korea and should be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“When I was in North Korea, I used to punish people who were regarded as ideologically compromised, members of anti-Party groups, promoters of capitalism, and other law-breakers in North Korean society,” said a defector who referred to himself as Mr Kim. Kim was part of a surveillance unit tasked with ferreting out ‘anti-socialist’ elements in addition to his job as a professor at Hamhung Computer Technology University.
Mr. Kim also conveyed detailed information on the human rights violations he engaged in, and his efforts to prevent North Koreans from accessing the outside world.
“In 2000, I caught three middle school students watching the Korean TV series ‘Hourglass’ during a random house search in the Donghungsan District of Hamhung City. It turned out that the videotape was bought by the son of a Provincial People’s Committee’s secretary so we interrogated the father. During the interrogation, he was tortured every day and beaten with clubs, with all of his fingers broken.”
“At the time, I was not aware of the fact that torturing people was against international law. I want to make an atonement to the people who were tortured, if they are still alive,” Mr. Kim added.
The anti-surveillance body carrying out these acts was created in 1983, comprising the most loyal personnel selected from the Party, military, and security organs under Kim Jong Il’s direct orders. Mr Kim testified that agents including himself had to report every censorship infraction and punishment to the Party and were only able to act on the Party’s orders.
Another defector, who previously worked for the Hamhung Railway Ministry as a safety agent stated, “I regret the anti-human crimes I committed during my days in North Korea. In North Korea, there is no concept of human rights, so beating people under the name of the state is actually considered patriotic. North Korea is not much different to a society of slaves where people cannot complain, even if someone is beaten to death for no reason.”
“There is also no concept of sexual harassment against women. It is common practice to unclothe detainees during an investigation to find out what they are hiding. When there is a ‘Number 1 event (any event with Kim Jong Un in attendance),’ every corner of the railway area is restricted from access, and it is not regarded as wrong to beat those who break the rule. In fact, not beating those people is considered a punishable act,” the defector added.
Another defector referring to himself as Mr. Jang was formerly a member of Group 109, a National Defense Commission [now State Affairs Commission]-affiliated organization tasked with controlling ‘anti-socialist activities.’ He stated, “I used to write reports about people who accessed outside information using portable bugging devices and radiowave detectors. Technical teams consisting of four agents each make thousands of reports within a six-month period by extracting records from memory devices. As a result of his tech team’s efforts, a considerable number of people were executed or sent to political prison camps.”
Mr. Jang was in charge of restoring broken video devices or giving technical support for using portable bugging devices and radiowave detectors to determine whether individuals had any access to external information. “Many were punished because of media devices our team had restored. I am deeply sorry to those who suffered greatly in prison camps or correctional camps,” he said.
North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity stated that this is the first time that the perpetrators themselves have given testimonies on North Korea’s human rights violations. These defectors reportedly decided to submit their testimonies, despite the great psychological pressure, in order to bring the North Korean regime to the ICC.
A spokesperson for North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity stated, “There still remains much work ahead for us in order to enable the ICC to punish Kim Jong Un, who is responsible for North Korea’s crimes against humanity. In particular, there should be more recording of the human rights violations committed against the North Korean people, along with more statements and testimonies from the perpetrators. We plan to submit the records of human rights violations to the ICC, the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council.”
