[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 55 (Wednesday, May 6, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PRISON CAMP TORTURE IN NORTH KOREA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 6, 1998

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to insert for the record 
information on some of the most disturbing news that I have heard 
recently about the egregious torture which was a reality to thousands 
of prison camp residents in North Korea.
  I recently met with Mrs. Soon-Ok Lee and Mr. Chul-Hwan Kang, 
survivors of the horrifying prison camps of North Korea. The two 
survivors now live in South Korea and desire to share with the world 
the truth about North Korea. Both Mrs. Lee and Mr. Kang are willing, at 
some risk to their safety, to testify before this body about their 
treatment while in the prison camps and about the general situation of 
the people of North Korea. It is vital that their information is shared 
with the world.
  Mrs. Soon-Ok Lee described the torture she endured at the hands of 
prison authorities. After severe beatings in which she lost many teeth 
and suffered partial paralysis in her face, she was subject to water 
torture. North Korean authorities forced her to lie down on her back 
and then they inserted a special kettle sprout into her mouth. The 
spout was made so that it expanded in her mouth and she could not 
breathe without swallowing water. The guards then poured gallon upon 
gallon of water into the spout thereby forcing it into Mrs. Lee's body. 
Due to the incredible amount of water flowing into her body, she became 
unconscious and her stomach became distended. When it was clear that 
her body could hold no more, the guards stopped, waited for her to 
awake, laid a board on her stomach and jumped on it. This forced the 
water back out of her mouth and caused her excruciating pain. She again 
lapsed into unconsciousness. Prison officials repeated this scenario a 
number of times both to Mrs. Lee and other prisoners.
  Mr. Chul-Hwan Kang witnessed similar egregious violations of human 
dignity. He was in prison from age nine to nineteen. Authorities 
imprisoned Mr. Kang at such a young age, because North Korean 
authorities arrest three generations of family members if a person is 
accused of a crime against the state or public order. When Mr. Kang's 
grandfather was arrested for spying, they also arrested and imprisoned 
the 9-year-old boy. While in the prison camp, Mr. Kang, along with most 
other prisoners, suffered from extreme malnutrition. In order to 
survive, he ate snakes, rats, and frogs. In addition to suffering from 
malnutrition, he watched countless executions carried out either by 
hanging or by firing squad. Inmates were forced to watch all 
executions. When guards completed some executions such as hanging, 
prisoners were forced to stone the dead bodies until they were no 
longer recognizable as human.
  Mr. Speaker, horrors such as this do not continue indefinitely when 
the international community is educated, outrages, and spurred to 
action. The American public must become aware of these egregious human 
rights violations. It is of the utmost importance that we begin the 
process of disseminating the information as widely as possible so that 
peoples of our nation and others can act on behalf of the suffering 
North Koreans.

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