North Korean authorities recently permitted families of prisoners at forced labor camps nationwide to visit their relatives for a limited period, following a ban on such visits due to COVID-19, Daily NK has learned.

On July 6, the Ministry of Social Security (MSS)’s Correctional Department relayed an order to labor camps across the country stating: “In line with the anniversary of the Supreme Leader’s death [on July 8], comrade Kim Jong Un has decided to once again allow family visits,” a source in the country told Daily NK recently. 

Before the pandemic, family visits were usually permitted once every three months. While the order means that visits can now take place, families will not be able to meet with prisoners face-to-face due to concerns over COVID-19. Instead, they have simply been asked to bring a year’s worth of food and “supplies” to the labor camps.

BRING WHAT’S ON THE LIST

Upon receiving the order, guards at the correctional facilities first contacted families who had visited inmates before to inform them of the news and asked them to bring supplies to the labor camp by the end of July, the source told Daily NK. For families who had never visited their imprisoned loved ones or who could not be contacted by phone, authorities informed local police stations to pass the information on. 

The list of items visitors can bring includes 30 kilograms of frying mix, five kilograms of soybean powder, two kilograms bottles of oil, two kilograms of taffy, one to two kilograms of candy, five bars of facial soap, five bars of laundry soap, 10 rolls of toilet paper, two sets of summer and winter long johns, three sets of underwear, three pairs of running shorts, three pairs of gloves, two pairs of socks, four pairs of shoes, five North Korean-made white towels, as well as North Korean-made toothbrushes and toothpaste, shoe insoles, portable flashlights and batteries. Most of the items on the list are restricted to the stated quantities.

The items without quantity restrictions – such as flashlights, batteries and shoe insoles – are generally used by prisoners when they have to fulfill duties related to punishments. Prisoners are often required to work in darkness due to the poor state of electricity in North Korea, so it appears that the exceptions are aimed at preparing for such work and preventing prisoners’ shoes from wearing out in harsh working environments. Another ulterior motive may be to force visiting families to bring extra supplies so that prisoners who do not receive visits can use them. 

Some families reportedly felt that the listed quantities are not enough to last a whole year, but prison officials have just told them to “bring what’s on the list” because they will supply everything else. 

HURRYING BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Visitors were also instructed to bring a single meal for their relatives to eat, the source said. 

“Families living close to labor camps arrived with food as soon as they received the order, but the guards took great care to check for any hidden messages or money inside the food,” he noted, adding, While the labor camps only allowed in the stipulated quantities, families who brought more than they could give to their relatives gave extras to the guards, along with money.”

Some guards reportedly grumbled that they felt the prisoners were getting better treatment than ordinary people given all the food they were getting and despite the fact local markets “have no more cooking oil or sugar left.” 

Meanwhile, visitors who live far away from labor camps have been scrambling to make it to the facilities during the permitted visiting period. It can take up to a week to receive a travel pass from the authorities, and around another five days to cross provincial borders. Visitors are also concerned about being pushed to the back of the queue if large numbers of people arrive at once, so they are trying to travel as fast as they can, the source said.  

“Catching a bus takes too long, so people are booking taxis to try and get there faster – even if they have to spend more,” the source said, adding, “Most of them will be using another form of transport on the way home because taxis are so expensive.”

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