By Yi Whan-woo
The families of North Korean political prisoners are hoping that the inter-Korean summit on April 27 may ease the repressive state's discrimination against them, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.
They said the families of defectors to South Korea are also optimistic following the summit after being monitored by agents from the North's State Security Department.
"We've been told that a man whose family member is imprisoned at a gulag was so optimistic about the summit that he had an engagement ceremony on April 27 with his fiance from a defector's family," a source said.
The soon-to-be-groom's future uncle-in-law and his cousins from the mother's side have been in political prison camps for over a decade. The summit "brought hope that they may be released if cross-border relations continue to improve," the source said.
A different source said villagers in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, are positive that the State Security Department's surveillance of them may be eased.
The county borders China and many residents escaped to the South after crossing into China.
"The remaining villagers are encouraged by the summit and they even joke that they should prepare for what would happen if the defectors return home en masse," the source said.
Between 80,000 and 130,000 North Korean political prisoners are thought to be in gulag-like facilities in the country.
They have been systematically tortured, raped and some executed for transgressions as minor as digging for edible plants, according to an International Bar Association report in December 2017.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over 10 of the 11 crimes against humanity, such as murder, extermination, enslavement, torture and sexual violence, it said.
North Korea has been beefing up its crackdown on defectors.
Data released from the South's Ministry of Unification in January showed that 1,127 people defected from North Korea in 2017, down 21 percent from a year ago. Of them, 83 percent were women.
The families of North Korean political prisoners are hoping that the inter-Korean summit on April 27 may ease the repressive state's discrimination against them, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.
They said the families of defectors to South Korea are also optimistic following the summit after being monitored by agents from the North's State Security Department.
"We've been told that a man whose family member is imprisoned at a gulag was so optimistic about the summit that he had an engagement ceremony on April 27 with his fiance from a defector's family," a source said.
The soon-to-be-groom's future uncle-in-law and his cousins from the mother's side have been in political prison camps for over a decade. The summit "brought hope that they may be released if cross-border relations continue to improve," the source said.
A different source said villagers in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, are positive that the State Security Department's surveillance of them may be eased.
The county borders China and many residents escaped to the South after crossing into China.
"The remaining villagers are encouraged by the summit and they even joke that they should prepare for what would happen if the defectors return home en masse," the source said.
Between 80,000 and 130,000 North Korean political prisoners are thought to be in gulag-like facilities in the country.
They have been systematically tortured, raped and some executed for transgressions as minor as digging for edible plants, according to an International Bar Association report in December 2017.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over 10 of the 11 crimes against humanity, such as murder, extermination, enslavement, torture and sexual violence, it said.
North Korea has been beefing up its crackdown on defectors.
Data released from the South's Ministry of Unification in January showed that 1,127 people defected from North Korea in 2017, down 21 percent from a year ago. Of them, 83 percent were women.
