II. Survey of Political Prisoners’ Camps (PPC) 1. Concept of PPC and Analysis of Witness Testimonies 1) Survey Concepts and Current Condition within PPC Generally speaking, the PPC is a camp, geographically separate and alienated from mainstream North Korean society, for the purpose of detaining and mercilessly punishing the accused offender of political crimes, as well as his/her family. However, to date, no provisions have been found in any laws or judiciary processes of North Korea specifying the title, authority to establish and/or operate a PPC. Accordingly, the concept, operation and actual conditions of PPC can only be ascertained based on the testimonies of witnesses who have personally experienced or had some contact with a PPC. PPC is a place where political prisoners are detained, however the North Korean definition of political prisoner is ambiguous. Under varying circumstance, political prisoners can be defined on the basis of arrest, charges brought against the prisoners, as well as the government branches involved. Generally, political prisoners are handled by the State Security Agency (SSA), which determines the severity of a prisoner’s punishment and operates the detention facilities. Therefore, all cases handled by the SSA are considered to be political offences. Prisoners under SSA investigation, together with the family of the offender, are recognized as political prisoners. Accordingly, political prisoners in North Korea are not necessarily prisoners of conscience. All surveys on PPC must be carried out with this in mind until such a time that the North Korean authorities announce clear and detailed 35