Prison Camps · North Hamgyong Province · Kwanliso
Camp 25, Chongjin (25호 청진 관리소)
Political prison camp (kwanliso)
Operating, expanded in the 2010s~5,000 estimated prisonersOperated by: Ministry of State Security (Bowibu)
Camp 25 is located inside the urban area of Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province. Satellite imagery analyzed by HRNK and CSIS shows significant expansions of guard posts, perimeter walls, and agricultural workshops during the 2010s. Unlike mountain valley camps, Camp 25 operates within city limits and holds political prisoners performing forced manufacturing and agriculture.
System Context & Human Rights Documentation
Political penal colonies like Camp 25, Chongjin 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.