Prison Camps · South Pyongan Province · Kwanliso
Camp 14, Kaechon (14호 개천 관리소)
Political prison camp (kwanliso)
Operating~15,000 estimated prisonersOperated by: Ministry of State Security (Bowibu)
Camp 14 is a "Total Control Zone" (wanjeon tongje-guyeok) political prison camp situated along the Taedong River in Kaechon, South Pyongan Province. Inmates sentenced to total control zones are never released, and multiple generations of families are held under guilt-by-association (yeonjwa-je). Former prisoner Shin Dong-hyuk gave detailed testimony of being born inside Camp 14 before escaping in 2005.
System Context & Human Rights Documentation
Political penal colonies like Camp 14, Kaechon form the foundation of North Korea's state terror apparatus. Under the principle of three generations of punishment (yeonjwa-je), the relatives of those suspected of political crimes, including small children and elderly parents, are incarcerated without judicial trial. The 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry found that the crimes committed inside these camps (extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, and forced abortions) constitute crimes against humanity.