Returned North Koreans Undergo Brainwashing

Chosun.com/September 23, 2004
By Jung Kwon-hyun

Quoting testimonials of some North Korean refugees, the Japanese daily Tokyo Shimbun reported Thursday that North Korean authorities lock up in concentration camps those who, in a failed attempt to escape the North, are forced to return after being denied asylum in another country, and instill in them the so-called "code of silence."

According to first-hand accounts, these detainees are exploited for hard labor after going through an inspection by the national security and preservation agency. They also receive a strict education in ideology, such as being forced to read over and over again the "code of silence" every morning and evening, which reads something like: "I shall not tell anybody of the things I have heard or seen in my time abroad."

The newspaper also reported that surveillance along borders has been reinforced in order to deter other North Koreans who may want to seek political asylum elsewhere. China is also operating its own 24-hour-a-day surveillance system to regulate the flow of illegal immigrants entering the country from the North. If an alarm is triggered, Chinese soldiers can reach the area in five to ten minutes, as in a recent case where a group of 30 people were caught trying to cross over to China.