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{{Short description|none}} <!-- This short description is INTENTIONALLY "none" - please see WP:SDNONE before you consider changing it! -->
There have been reports of '''North Korean ]'''. These reports show ]s similar to those of ] and ] during ] and the] throughout the 19th and 20th centuries{{cn}}. These allegations of human rights abuses are denied by the ], who claim that all prisoners in ] are treated humanely.
{{Human Rights in North Korea|expanded=all}}


] is an issue raised by some ] and former prisoners. They have described suffocation of prisoners in ]s, testing deadly ]s and surgery without ].<ref name="Barnett"/>
==Allegations==
The ] charity ] details on its website allegations of chemical experiments done to ]s, and an apparent eyewitnesses report about seven people who died in two ]s, including a mother who held her youngest child as she died.


==Sources==
===2004 BBC report===
] in North Korea has been described by several North Korean defectors, including former prisoner ], former prison guards Kwon Hyok and Ahn Myung-chul, and others.<ref>
A ] television programme on February 1, 2004, with the title, ''Access to Evil'' in the ''This World'' series,<ref name="bbc01">{{cite web
David Hawk, (]: ], 2012), May 11, 2021, at the ].</ref> In Lee's testimony to the ]<ref name="senate01">Soon Ok Lee, "Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee", Hearings & Meetings, ], June 21, 2002, September 22, 2008, at ].</ref> and in her prison memoir '']'' (published in 1999) she recounted witnessing two instances of lethal human experimentation. An episode of the ] television programme '']''{{hsp}}<ref name="bbc01">Olenka Frenkiel, , ], January 30, 2004, May 25, 2012, at ].</ref><ref name="GuineaPigs">Olenka Frenkiel, , ], July 28, 2004, July 13, 2012, at ].</ref> detailed some of the allegations.<ref>Anne Applebaum, , ], February 4, 2004, October 23, 2010, at ].
|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/3440771.stm
</ref> The accusations have been described as "very plausible" by a senior US official quoted anonymously by ].<ref>
|title = Within prison walls
Robert Windrem, , ], October 24, 2003, June 6, 2021, at ].</ref> Lee's accounts have been questioned by Chang In-suk, former head of the North Korean Defectors’ Association in Seoul, as well as a number of former North Korean citizens on ] who believed that Lee's accounts were "unlikely to be true".<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Song |first1=Jiyoung |title=Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/why-do-north-korean-defector-testimonies-so-often-fall-apart |access-date=12 January 2022 |agency=NK News |work=The Guardian |date=13 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yi |first1=Joseph |last2=Phillips |first2=Joe |last3=Lee |first3=Wondong |title=Manufacturing Contempt: State-Linked Populism in South Korea |journal=Society |date=October 2019 |volume=56 |issue=5 |page=496 |doi=10.1007/s12115-019-00404-2 |s2cid=203069756 |access-date=12 January 2022|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12115-019-00404-2}}</ref>
|accessdate = 2009-12-15
|author = Olenka Frenkiel
|date = January 30, 2004
|publisher = BBC News
}}</ref> detailed other allegations.


==Testing of deadly poisons==
⚫ In the programme, a former North Korean woman prisoner, ] tells how 50 healthy women prisoners were selected and given poisoned cabbage leaves, which all the women had to eat despite cries of distress from those who had already eaten. All 50 were dead after 20 minutes of vomiting blood and anal bleeding. Refusing to eat would allegedly have meant ]s against them and their families.


⚫ Lee described an experiment in which 50 healthy female prisoners were selected and given poisoned cabbage leaves. All of the women were required to eat the cabbage, despite cries of distress from those who had already eaten. All 50 died after 20 minutes of vomiting blood and anal bleeding. Refusing to eat the cabbage would allegedly have meant reprisals against them and their families.
Kwon Hyok, a former prison Head of Security at ], described laboratories equipped respectively for ], ] and ] experiments, in which three or four people, normally a family, are the experimental subjects. After undergoing medical checks, the chambers are sealed and poison is injected through a tube, while scientists observe from above through glass. In a report reminiscent of the earlier account of a family of seven, Kwon Hyok claims to have watched one family of two parents, a son and a daughter die from suffocating gas, with the parents trying to save the children using ] for as long as they had the strength.


Kwon Hyok, who has stated he was a former head of security at ], described laboratories equipped with glass gas chambers for ] experiments, in which three or four people, normally a family, are the experimental subjects.<ref name="Barnett">Antony Barnett, , ], January 1, 2004, March 14, 2018, at ].</ref><ref>Joshua Stanton, , ''FreeKorea.us'', published February 18, 2007, last modified April 2012, May 30, 2012, at ].</ref> After the people undergo medical checks, the chambers are sealed and poison is injected through a tube, while scientists observe from above through glass. In a report reminiscent of an earlier account of a family of seven, Kwon claims to have watched one family of two parents, a son and a daughter die from suffocating gas, with the parents trying to save the children using ] for as long as they had the strength. Dr. Kim, a chemist who led these experiments before defecting from North Korea, confirmed these reports and stated that the experiments' purposes included observing the poison gas's effects on victims' mental state and determining how much gas would be needed to kill everyone in an area.<ref name="GuineaPigs"/>
An interview with Kim Sang Hun, described as a distinguished human rights activist, was also broadcast. Kim Sang Hun showed documents that he says were brought from ] by an escapee and which he is sure are not forgeries. These documents each say that a certain prisoner is to be transferred for experimentation with chemical weapons. A London based expert on Korea also considers it likely that the documents are genuine and Kwon Hyok stated independently that such documents were used at Camp 22.


Kwon's testimony was supported by documents from Camp 22 describing the transfer of prisoners designated for the experiments; the documents were identified as genuine by Kim Sang-hun, a London-based expert on Korea and human rights activist. Toxicologist ] stated that Kim's testimony is detailed and scientifically accurate enough that it is likely to be true.<ref name="GuineaPigs"/> A press conference in ], organized by North Korean authorities, denounced the allegations and claimed that the corroborating documents had been forged.<ref>, ], an official organ of the ], March 31, 2004, July 9, 2012, at ].</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Truth behind False Report about 'Experiment of Chem. Weapons on Human Bodies' in DPRK Disclosed|agency=]|date=March 30, 2004|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2004/200403/news03/31.htm|access-date=2005-12-13 |archive-date=2005-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028082759/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2004/200403/news03/31.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Shin Eon-sang, South Korea's Assistant Minister for Unification Policy, stated that "he authenticity of the evidence is difficult to assess" because North Korean defectors' "claims are in most cases exaggerated."<ref name="GuineaPigs"/> Kwon's account was also questioned by the ] based in South Korea, which argued he had never served in a political prison and had no access to the information he claimed.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Song |first1=Jiyoung |title=Unreliable witnesses |url=https://www.policyforum.net/unreliable-witnesses/ |website=Asia & the Pacific Policy Society |date=2 August 2015 |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> Kwon and Kim claim that the South Korean ] told them not to talk about North Korean human experimentation to avoid harming South Korea's relations with North Korea, and harassed them and denied them passports when they refused.<ref name="GuineaPigs"/>
North Korea refuses access by any outside observers to ].


===Other reports=== ==Other experiments==
⚫ Former prison guard Ahn Myung-chul has reported that young doctors practice surgeries on prisoners without ].<ref name="dailynk01">
], another North Korean defector, and one of the few to have escaped from life imprisonment in an "Absolute Control Area" through ] to ]. In her original defector's testimony, her US Senate testimony<ref name="senate01">{{cite web
Ahn Myung Chul, , '']'', January 18, 2006, January 20, 2013, at ].</ref>
|url = http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=292&wit_id=665
|title = Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee
|date = June 21, 2002
|accessdate = 2009-12-15
|publisher = United States Senate
}}</ref> and her prison memoir '']'' (ISBN 0-88264-335-5) she recounted witnessing two instances of lethal human experimentation. Allegedly, her account is backed by satellite photographs, but how such events were seen has not been disclosed.

⚫ Former prison guard Ahn Myung Chul has reported that prisoners were used for "medical operation practice" for young doctors. According to him, these doctors would practice ] on prisoners, without ].<ref name="dailynk01">{{cite web
|url = http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02600&num=506
|title = Prisoners Used for Medical Operation Practice
|accessdate = 2009-12-15
|author = Ahn Myung Chul
|date = January 18, 2006
|publisher = DailyNK
}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal|North Korea}}
*] of ethics for research involving human subjects
*] *]

*]
'''International'''
*]
*] *], Japan
*]
⚫ *]
*]
*], Khmer Rouge
*]
*] *]


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== External links == == External links ==
* *
* *
*
*
* , where the experiments are said to have occurred, with Google Earth images Camp 22 and other camps.
* (includes satellite photos of the known camps)
* by Antony Barnett, February 1, 2004 ]
* ]
*, by Olenka Frenkiel, ]
*
*, by ], February 4 ], ]
*
* (includes satellite photos of the known camps)
* , publication of ], an official organ of the ]
* (]n Central News Agency)


{{World topic|title=]|Human experimentation in|noredlinks = yes<!-- Set to a non-blank value to suppress redlinks -->}}
⚫ ]
⚫ ]
⚫ ]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Experimentation In North Korea}}
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⚫ ]
]
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Latest revision as of 18:20, 3 August 2024

Part of a series on
Human rights in North Korea
Human rights abuses
Political prisons (Kwanliso)
Re-education camps (Kyohwaso)
Abductions and POWs
International reactions

Human experimentation is an issue raised by some North Korean defectors and former prisoners. They have described suffocation of prisoners in gas chambers, testing deadly chemical weapons and surgery without anesthesia.

Sources

Human experimentation in North Korea has been described by several North Korean defectors, including former prisoner Lee Soon-ok, former prison guards Kwon Hyok and Ahn Myung-chul, and others. In Lee's testimony to the U.S. Senate and in her prison memoir Eyes of the Tailless Animals (published in 1999) she recounted witnessing two instances of lethal human experimentation. An episode of the BBC television programme This World  detailed some of the allegations. The accusations have been described as "very plausible" by a senior US official quoted anonymously by NBC News. Lee's accounts have been questioned by Chang In-suk, former head of the North Korean Defectors’ Association in Seoul, as well as a number of former North Korean citizens on NKnet who believed that Lee's accounts were "unlikely to be true".

Testing of deadly poisons

Lee described an experiment in which 50 healthy female prisoners were selected and given poisoned cabbage leaves. All of the women were required to eat the cabbage, despite cries of distress from those who had already eaten. All 50 died after 20 minutes of vomiting blood and anal bleeding. Refusing to eat the cabbage would allegedly have meant reprisals against them and their families.

Kwon Hyok, who has stated he was a former head of security at Camp 22, described laboratories equipped with glass gas chambers for suffocation gas experiments, in which three or four people, normally a family, are the experimental subjects. After the people undergo medical checks, the chambers are sealed and poison is injected through a tube, while scientists observe from above through glass. In a report reminiscent of an earlier account of a family of seven, Kwon claims to have watched one family of two parents, a son and a daughter die from suffocating gas, with the parents trying to save the children using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for as long as they had the strength. Dr. Kim, a chemist who led these experiments before defecting from North Korea, confirmed these reports and stated that the experiments' purposes included observing the poison gas's effects on victims' mental state and determining how much gas would be needed to kill everyone in an area.

Kwon's testimony was supported by documents from Camp 22 describing the transfer of prisoners designated for the experiments; the documents were identified as genuine by Kim Sang-hun, a London-based expert on Korea and human rights activist. Toxicologist Alastair Hay stated that Kim's testimony is detailed and scientifically accurate enough that it is likely to be true. A press conference in Pyongyang, organized by North Korean authorities, denounced the allegations and claimed that the corroborating documents had been forged. Shin Eon-sang, South Korea's Assistant Minister for Unification Policy, stated that "he authenticity of the evidence is difficult to assess" because North Korean defectors' "claims are in most cases exaggerated." Kwon's account was also questioned by the Yonhap News Agency based in South Korea, which argued he had never served in a political prison and had no access to the information he claimed. Kwon and Kim claim that the South Korean National Intelligence Service told them not to talk about North Korean human experimentation to avoid harming South Korea's relations with North Korea, and harassed them and denied them passports when they refused.

Other experiments

Former prison guard Ahn Myung-chul has reported that young doctors practice surgeries on prisoners without anesthesia.

See also

International

References

  1. ^ Antony Barnett, "Revealed: the gas chamber horror of North Korea's gulag", Guardian Unlimited, January 1, 2004, archived March 14, 2018, at archive.today.
  2. David Hawk, The Hidden Gulag, Second Edition (Washington, DC: Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2012), archived May 11, 2021, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. Soon Ok Lee, "Testimony of Ms. Soon Ok Lee", Hearings & Meetings, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, June 21, 2002, archived September 22, 2008, at archive.today.
  4. Olenka Frenkiel, "Within prison walls", BBC News, January 30, 2004, archived May 25, 2012, at archive.today.
  5. ^ Olenka Frenkiel, "Human guinea pigs", BBC News, July 28, 2004, archived July 13, 2012, at archive.today.
  6. Anne Applebaum, "Auschwitz Under Our Noses", The Washington Post, February 4, 2004, archived October 23, 2010, at archive.today.
  7. Robert Windrem, "Death, terror in N. Korea gulag", NBC News, October 24, 2003, archived June 6, 2021, at archive.today.
  8. ^ Song, Jiyoung (13 October 2015). "Why do North Korean defector testimonies so often fall apart?". The Guardian. NK News. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. Yi, Joseph; Phillips, Joe; Lee, Wondong (October 2019). "Manufacturing Contempt: State-Linked Populism in South Korea". Society. 56 (5): 496. doi:10.1007/s12115-019-00404-2. S2CID 203069756. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. Joshua Stanton, "Holocaust Now: Looking Down Into Hell at Camp 22", FreeKorea.us, published February 18, 2007, last modified April 2012, archived May 30, 2012, at archive.today.
  11. "DPRK civilians admit faking papers on chemical weapons testing on humans at a press conference in Pyongyang", People's Daily, an official organ of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, March 31, 2004, archived July 9, 2012, at archive.today.
  12. "Truth behind False Report about 'Experiment of Chem. Weapons on Human Bodies' in DPRK Disclosed". Korean Central News Agency. March 30, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2005-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. Song, Jiyoung (2 August 2015). "Unreliable witnesses". Asia & the Pacific Policy Society. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. Ahn Myung Chul, "Prisoners Used for Medical Operation Practice", Daily NK, January 18, 2006, archived January 20, 2013, at archive.today.

External links

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