This article is part of a series written by Daily NK journalist Kim Jeong Hun entitled “North Korea’s Secret Stories.”
In the summer of 2021, all the inmates of Songgan Reeducation Camp in North Korea’s Chagang Province quickly assembled in the camp’s outdoor assembly area. It was 1 PM, a time when the inmates ordinarily have to carry out their disciplinary work assignments. The camp commandant soon appeared before them.
Carrying a copy of the Kaejun Sinmun newspaper, a publication put out by the Ministry of Social Security’s Bureau of Corrections, the camp commandant looked around the inmates seated on the bare ground of the yard, took a seat at a desk placed upon a podium and said, “I’m here to give you an important order.”
The camp commandant then continued: “You must have heard from the camp staff that there will be an amnesty next year thanks to the beloved Supreme Leader’s consideration. You should all keep well in mind the great favor bestowed by the Workers’ Party and state on model prisoners who carry out the reeducation camp’s disciplinary assignments and reform themselves. You all will have to perform your work well until next year’s amnesty.”
The camp commandant held up one of the pages of the Kaejun Sinmun as he began to get to the point of his speech: “Do you know what this is? At least one of you might. There is a young man in Chunggang County who was released last spring. This is a newspaper from last year with an article about that guy because he carried out his disciplinary assignments well and studied hard about the greatness [of North Korea’s leaders].
“This man came here after he was sentenced to two years of reeducation for smuggling, but left after a year and a half after having his sentence reduced by six months. He was released last year thanks to the consideration of the Workers’ Party and State, but he committed the anti-state crime of importing a Bible while conducting a smuggling operation in Chunggang County, despite the closure of the border due to the malicious infectious disease.”
The camp commandant then shouted: “Some of you guys will probably receive an amnesty next year and have your sentence shortened and be released right away or released soon after, so don’t come back here after getting caught breaking the law as soon as you get out like this guy! The correctional officers who were responsible for this man or our camp are the [ones blamed] for cultivating this spy!”
AN EX-CON GETS IN TROUBLE AGAIN
According to the camp commandant, the man in his mid-20s — identified by his surname of Kim — started to smuggle again after he returned home to help his elder sister and her husband, who had gone into debt taking care of him while he was in the camp. The man borrowed a Chinese-made mobile phone and called a Chinese trader he used to know to ask for help. After that, he engaged in a smuggling operation across the border.
Even though North Korea’s border was tightly sealed, Kim crossed the Yalu River under the protection of a border patrol soldier he knew and received goods from the Chinese trader. He received a box with RMB 10,000 (around USD 1,450), daily necessities and foodstuffs like South Korean instant noodles and dried seaweed. At the very bottom of the box was a Bible.
Two days later, an informant for the Ministry of State Security’s branch in Chunggang County who monitored former camp inmates got suspicious about the man’s activities and informed his bosses. A counterespionage team then went into action. Kim was re-arrested after the team found the Bible while they were searching his house.
“Importing a Bible is a treasonous act that directly challenges the Workers’ Party and State and is akin to surrendering to our enemies, who are plotting to overthrow our system. This guy, blinded by a little money, brought a Bible into our sacred territory, a crime worthy of being executed for,” said the camp commandant. “If you receive a pardon next year, don’t commit crimes like this man.”
Songgan Reeducation Camp was not the only place where inmates received this kind of lecture. Reeducation camps nationwide got the same speech at the same time on orders from the Ministry of Social Security’s Bureau of Corrections. The agency wanted to warn inmates against committing crimes after their release and used the example of Kim smuggling in a Bible and getting caught for it.
Ultimately, Kim was dragged off to a political prison camp. His elder sister and her husband were also kicked out of Chunggang County and exiled to a rural village far from the China-North Korean border in Kaechon County, South Pyongan Province.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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