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Over the last decade, the North Korean regime has gradually consolidated its sprawling prison system. The South Korean government believes that the number of political prison camps or kwan-li-so has been reduced to six, incarcerating an estimated 150,000 inmates, down from an earlier estimate of 200,000. But the focus on the political prison camps has distracted attention from the abuses in the numerous "labor training centers" as we document in our book. Amnesty International has launched a research effort on political prisoners in North Korea that will cover the entire penal system, expected some time this year.
