North Korea fires head of prison camp system

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired one of his top lieutenants, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

As Minister of State Security, Kim Won Hong oversaw the North Korean agency responsible for running the country’s notorious prison camps, rooting out spies in North Korea and conducting counterespionage operations abroad.

Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Kim Won Hong was punished for “human rights abuses committed during interrogations at the State Security Department” among other things.

The security chief was one of seven North Korean officials sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on January 11 for human rights abuses.

He was removed from his position in the North Korean government around that time, the South Korean official said.

Former N.Korea bodyguard details abuse

02:11 - Source: CNN

According to a US Treasury statement, Kim Won Hong directed and managed activities including “beatings, forced starvation, sexual assault, forced abortions, and infanticide” that took place in the system of prison camps.

The US Treasury order froze any assets of Kim Won Hong under US jurisdiction.

Although Pyongyang officially denies that the prison camps exist, multiple human rights groups have documented their ongoing operation via survivor testimony and satellite imagery.

A labor camp village before ... —

A satellite image of a village in the northern part of North Korean political camp 16 (Kwanliso) taken in September 2011.

... and after —

A year and a half later, in April 2013, the area appears to have undergone change, with new housing being recently added or under construction. The guard post in the immediate vicinity of the village allows for constant supervision of the prisoners and is indicative of the tight security within the political prison camp, says Amnesty International.

An industrial complex under construction —

In June 2010, an image of the political prison camp known as Kwanliso 16 shows a new facility under construction.

Industrial complex operational, two years on —

In November 2012, the industrial facility appears to be operational and new support buildings are visible -- a sign of further investment in mining, agriculture and logging production facilities, according to Amnesty.

Patrolling the camp —

A satellite image shows a checkpoint on the main road. Amnesty International said these images indicate that repression by the North Korean authorities has continued in spite of growing calls for the country to close its political prison camps.

Housing in 2011 —

An administrative area of Kwanliso 16 in May, 2011.

New housing structures —

An image taken in May, 2013 indicates that housing in the area has been razed and reconstructed. Amnesty International said the prisoner population in Kwanliso 16 appears to have increased slightly.

More homes under construction —

Two more housing units under construction close to the main entrance of Kwanliso 16. Each building has ten 4 x 3.5 meter units.

Camp security —

The camp is surrounded by a double fence along its perimeter and numerous guard posts. Access is highly restricted through two gates on opposite sides of the political prison camp.

Logging —

In March 2011, logging is widely visible in the camp.

Ongoing logging activities —

An image from September 2013 shows that logging activities have been ongoing over a two year period.

Making furniture? —

One of four satellite images taken of a probable furniture factory. Lumber piles changed over time, indicating production activity.

Administrative compound: Before & after —

Satellite images of Kwanliso 15 (Yodok Kwanliso), taken on the 26 March 2011 and 22 February 2012 show an administrative compound that was built during that period. The complex is likely to be a guard station or an administrative area to support logging activities.

North Korea's political prisons growing?

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Last November, a United Nations report said up to 120,000 men, women and children are imprisoned in the camps, known as “kwanliso” in Korean.

An analysis by Amnesty International in November concluded that Pyongyang “is continuing to maintain, and even invest, in these repressive facilities.”

“These camps constitute the cornerstone of the country’s large infrastructure dedicated to political repression and social control that enables widespread and systematic human rights abuses,” Amnesty said in a statement.

CNN’s James Griffiths and journalist Taehoon Lee contributed to this report.