Hawk describes "two distinct systems of repression" in North Korea. First there is the network of "forced-labor colonies, camps, and prisons where scores of thousands of prisoners - some political (which includes followers of Christ), some convicted felons - are worked, many to their deaths, in mining, logging, farming, and industrial enterprises..." Second, there are some shorter-term detention facilities used to punish (often severely) North Koreans who flee to China (e.g.: those who search for food during a famine!) but are arrested by Chinese police and forcibly returned "home."

Hawk says that in his studies he found "extreme phenomena of repression" that to his knowledge are unique to the Kim regime of the last couple of generations. This is the legacy that the Kims will pass on. These are the things by which they will be remembered when all the dust settles...

• Guilt by asscoiation. That is, if you are found guilty, three generations of your family and anyone else who is close to you, are all locked up in a labor camp. But the truly "guilty" person is separated from the rest of his family members, who are viewed as "redeemable."
• No judicial process. Once it is decided you are guilty, you are guilty. There is no one to defend you in these cases. And your sentence is usually life in the gulag.
• Forced abortions or murder of newborns. To keep Korea pure. Many women, you recall, head north to China looking for food and a secure life. Often they become a victim of the human trafficking that goes on up there. They become pregnant by Chinese men. When they are captured, they must be relieved of the burden they bear. Got to get rid of that non-Korean contamination!

Kim Jong Il denies the existence of forced-labor camps. In these days of "let's get along" we'd all like to believe that. So, help us, Mr. Kim. Help us to believe you. Open the doors of your Kingdom and let us look around until we are content we have been mistaken.