200,000 political prisoners estimated in NK

An estimated 150,000-200,000 North Koreans are locked up in their communist country as political prisoners, a senior South Korean official said Friday.

Unification Minister Hyun In-taek did not cite sources, but he said during a parliamentary audit in Seoul that the number is "what we understand currently."

North Korea is operating six political prison camps, Gu Sang-chan, a lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party, said during the audit as he asked Hyun about the number of inmates.

People incarcerated in such camps are believed to be political dissidents or those who have been captured and repatriated after fleeing the impoverished communist state.