What happened
A report by two human rights organizations has revealed that North Korea is allegedly operating a secret underground prison in Beijing. The prison is said to be used to capture and interrogate potential defectors, including high-ranking officials, scientists, and diplomats.
The report, published by the Transitional Justice Working Group and Global Rights Compliance, is based on interviews with North Korean witnesses and accuses North Korea of violating Chinese law and undermining Chinese law enforcement. The prison is reportedly located in the basement of a consular building in Chaoyang, Beijing, where detainees are subjected to violent interrogation and forced to return to North Korea.
The report identifies the primary targets of this secret operation as individuals who may possess state secrets or be considering defecting, including those with knowledge of the Kim family's private life and sanctioned businesses. The operation is said to involve luring potential defectors to Beijing under false pretenses, where they are immediately confined and interrogated.
The report also highlights the case of Pae Yong-ju, a hacker who attempted to defect to South Korea and was allegedly interrogated in the secret prison and repatriated in August 2023. The report compares North Korea's operations to China's own illicit activities abroad, including the