North Korea's vast infrastructure of repression is further exposed in new satellite images showing the on-going development of two of the country's largest political prison camps, Amnesty International disclosed on Thursday.
In a comprehensive assessments of camps 15 and 16 - known as Kwanliso - Amnesty International found new housing blocks, an expansion of production facilities, and continued tight security.
The analysis, along with newly released testimonies, is included in Amnesty International's latest briefing North Korea: Continued Investment in the Infrastructure of Repression.
The London-based human rights watchdog quoted a former security official at kwanliso 16 - the largest political prison camp in North Korea - as describing that detainees were forced to dig their own graves and women raped and then disappearing.
Rajiv Narayan, Amnesty International's East Asia Researcher, urged the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those prisoners of conscience held in political prison camps and close the camps immediately.
Amnesty International says it has shared the latest evidence with the UN Commission of Inquiry investigating human rights abuses in North Korea.
Hundreds of thousands of people - including children - are said to be detained in political prison camps and other detention facilities in North Korea.
Kwanliso 15 covers an area of 370 square kilometers and is located in central North Korea around 120 kilometers from the capital Pyongyang. In 2011, an estimated 50,000 people were imprisoned within the camp and the population is concentrated in river valleys.
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