Headquarters. The 7th Bureau was responsible for the management
of prisons. The operation of PPC came under the control of the State
Security Agency (SSA) as of 1975. Before the closure of PPC No. 13,
inspection team arrived from the Central Committee of the Party and
SSA. Thus, there was a government inspection before the closure of
the PPC. They conducted a thorough investigation into all aspects of
the PPC, such as prisoners, property, facilities and equipment and the
results of production. A certain tonnage of corn was sent to the Grains
Control Office of Chongsong County and livestock sent to the Farm
Management Committee of Onsong County. There were several
hundred cows and tens of thousands of pigs that were all carried
away. It took over a year to transport all the livestock. Everything
inside the PPC was carried away. After all the prisoners were sent
away, soldiers were mobilized to dispose of dead bodies and
eliminate evidence of graves.” (A08, former SSA officer at PPC No.
12 and 13 1967~1992)
The testimony makes it clear that PPC had been under the control of
the police in the beginning, but control had shifted to the SSA (7th Bureau) as of
1975. The testimony further clarifies that the entire process and operation of
closing/integration of a PPC was under the responsibility of the SSA, confirming
that the SSA is responsible for the direct control and operation of PPC.
Shin Dong-hyuk, former prisoner from PPC No. 14 in Kaechon,
provides us with detailed information pertaining to the location (Wedong-ni,
Kaechon, South Pyongan Province), the official title (PPC No. 14, Kaechon)
and the process of separation from the PPC at Pukchang. He further
estimated the number of prisoners in the Kaechon PPC to be about 50,000.
Former prisoners were not in a position to tell us about facts of the entire
camp as their movement had been limited to the areas of their work
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