DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA — A SHORT HISTORY:
North Korea is in the northern Korean peninsula and is also referred to as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). After WWII, the Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones; the northern occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern by the United States. The current separate Korean governments were formed after a UN supervised election in 1948. Conflicting claims of sovereignty led to the Korean War in 1950. Although a cease-fire was signed in 1953, both sides claim to still be at war. Kim II-sung, known in North Korea as the Eternal President of the Republic, was the leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 to his death in 1994. Following his death in 1994 he was succeeded by his eldest son Kim Jong II. Kim Jong-II was the supreme leader of North Korea from 1994-2011. Following his death, his third son Kim Jong-un succeeded him. North Korea is the most militarized country in the world with a total of approximately 9.5 million military personnel. Officially a socialist republic, North Korea has been described as a dictatorship with a cult like following of the Kim family. Although the government denies it, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report severe restrictions of human rights.

http://www.northkoreanow.org/the-crisis/north-koreas-gulags/

“It is now known that every home in the country has a portrait of the “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung and the “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il. Inspectors visit homes to hand out fines and admonishments if the portraits are not well kept. Every government building and subway car displays the two portraits, and every adult citizen wears a button of Kim Il Sung”.” – Michael Cromartie, Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom

North Korean emblem

Human rights violations in the news:

Born in a prison camp, Shin Dong-hyuk describes how three generations of a family are incarcerated if one family member is considered disloyal. Anderson Cooper reports (Dec 2012):

North Korean prisoner escaped after 23 brutal years

North Korea expanding gulag network, satellite images show:

DigitalGlobe / HRNK

“A newly released analysis of satellite imagery paints a bleak picture of North Korea’s growing gulag network.

The North’s Labour Camp No. 25, which makes up part of what campaigners call “one of the worst, but least understood and reported, human rights situations in the world,” appears to be in the midst of a dramatic expansion.

According to the Committee of Human Rights in North Korea, the camp grew at least 72% since 2003. The number of perimeter guard posts jumped from 20 in 2003 to 43 by 2010.

The group believes the gulag network expansion may be a response to purges in the lead up to Kim Jong-un’s succession.

Direct information on North Korea’s forced labour camps is hard to come by, but human rights abuses have been well-documented by defectors.

After escaping, Shin Dong-hyuk equated his experience with surviving a camp in Hitler’s Germany.

“People think the Holocaust is in the past, but it is still very much a reality,” Dong-hyk told Agence France-Presse. “It is still going on in North Korea.”

Gulag prisoners are often victims of forced disappearances. There are between 150,000-200,000 political prisoners in the camps, according to an Economist report.” (http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/02/26/north-korea-expanding-gulag-network-satellite-images-show/)

Interview with Brent Zook who lived in Korea for 6 years and served in the military for part of that time:

I was stationed in South Korea in 2004 as an infantry sniper. Sounds exciting, but it was very uneventful. Most days I sat and watched North Korean soldiers pace back and forth. We did interact from time to time by throwing food to them over the fence but that’s about it. The South wants to reunite the country, but as you and every one that has watched the news the last few weeks knows the North wants nothing to do with it. I lived in Korea for 6 years and I love their rich culture. Their family values far surpass ours as Americans. Their education system is also quite impressive. The people are great and as a whole it is a great place to live. The entire time I was there the north has been threatening the south with no real action. There have been several small military actions to take place over the last 50 years but nothing to start a war over. It is not a question of can the United States and South Korea defeat the North. It is more of, is the loss of life worth it. Seoul is so tightly packed with people as is the rest of the country that a missile attack or artillery strike would result in hundreds of thousands of lives lost. I feel this is the major cause of concern during these times of escalated tensions in that part of the world. We also as a military have to consider the involvement of China as well as the Soviet Union. The last conflict that broke out was a one sided fight until China entered the war. I believe that this will pass and that we will be hearing much more threats from the North for a long time to come. This is what they do to get what they want from us and the UN. This sort of game has worked for them for a long time. My worry is that one day the US and S. Korea will no longer be willing to tolerate this and take action with huge loss of life as a result.