Twenty-six prisoners broke free of guards while being transported to the “No. 12 Reeducation Camp”, located at the Jeongeu-ri in Hoiryeong City, North Hamkyung Province.
A source in North Hamkyung Province said in a phone conversation with Daily NK on the 11th, “The 26 convicts that were headed to the reeducation camp from Musan collectively fled from the Musan Mountain Pass, which is situated between Jeongeu-ri and Musan-ri in Hoiryeong, around 11 P.M. on April 9th.”
Another source also confirmed on the 15th, “The guards around Tumen River and of course in Hoiryeong are brutal. Rumor has been circulating that the prisoners who were headed to Jeongeu-ri Reeducation Camp escaped as a group.”
According to the sources, the place where the incident occurred is within proximity of Gomu Mountain in Buryeong, North Hamkyung Province by the Musan Mountain Pass road between Jeongeu-ri and Musan-ri. The source said, “It is a narrow road that begins half-way up the Musan Mountain Pass, has a steep incline and winding turns, so it is a very dangerous place, even in the middle of the day.”
The source also explained that drivers are especially careful on this road because of its steep incline and crookedness; thieves know this and like to stir up trouble. In the case of this incident, as the vehicles transporting prisoners and cargo made their way slowly up the mountain, the thieves coming up along side them saw the opportunity to break into the cargo beds and grab materials from the trucks. In doing so, they released the twenty-six prisoners being held in the back of the truck.
The source relayed, “The thieves ransacked the vehicle, thinking that it carried valuable goods. The prisoners inside used this opportunity to escape.”
Furthermore, “Two fully-equipped police officers were seated in the car at the time, but the car was jumping up and down on the unpaved road and in the middle of the dark, so they did not hear the thieves opening the door of the vehicle.”
The source added, “When the door of the vehicle opened, twenty-six male prisoners all jumped out, at which time the police officers immediately stopped the car and tried to shoot them. However, they all managed to flee into the darkness of the forest, so it would have been difficult to catch them.”
He also said, “Due to this incident, the military police and the National Security Agency have been mobilized along the Hoiryeong-Musan road and have been conducting a concentrated inspection. In anticipation of their flight to the border region, the night-time patrols have been dispatched and the search continues.”
Moreover, the source said, “Because of this incident, an extensive inspection of lodging establishments in the cities and villages near the border, including Hoiryeong and Musan, is ensuing. However, the national authorities have kept news of the prisoners’ escape from reaching the civilians while they carry on with the investigation, only offering the explanation that they are trying to ‘catch criminals’.”
The Jeongeu-ri Reeducation Camp is located approximately 15km south of Hoiryeong City. The city was established under the name of the “No. 22 Youth Education Camp” in late 1970, but in the mid-1980, its name was changed to the “No. 12 Reeducation Camp.” The number of prisoners detained at the came is known to be around 2,000.
