SEOUL, May 28 (UPI) -- An official report on North Korean prisons has been published in what the South Korean government says is its first attempt to document the atrocities.
The 381-page report by South Korea's National Human Rights Commission is based on the disturbing testimony of 278 defectors who succeeded in reaching South Korea, and includes the names of prison guards who carried out torture and executions in political prisoner camps, CNN reported Monday.
"We felt a necessity to systematically manage the examples of human rights violations. This can be used as preliminary data for compensation by the country after unification," said Lee Young Ken, head of the Commission's North Korean Department, adding, "This could also psychologically put pressure on North Korean officials who definitely will be able to see this compilation."
Human rights group Amnesty International has estimated that up to 200,000 prisoners in North Korea are being held in what it terms are "horrific conditions in six sprawling political prison camps," the news service said.
