If North Korean prison walls could speak, they would tell horrific stories of beatings, torture, and death. One North Korean prison survivor wrote to me of "the cries of the North Koreans as they're beaten... their tears of hunger... moaning in pain that doesn't end... their dark faces with no smiles... I picture these faces and I see a picture of the shadow of hell."

Women, children, and the elderly are all subject to beatings and torture. Mrs Lee..."When it comes to beatings, they don't look at men and women differently." Ms Lim..."However, it is only the men who are electrocuted with cattle prods. Women aren't electrocuted, but we are kicked, hit with sticks, and have our hair pulled out until we bleed." Another former prisoner showed me a bald spot on the right side of her head. "I was hit on the head repeatedly with a hammer, " she said.

"...They swear at you and beat you relentlessly... Sometimes, the guards would demand that prisoners put their hands on the floor. Then they would step all over them. I would hear horrific cries. I've seen people lose all their fingernails like this."

...a young teenager told me "Some people think kids don't get hit in prison or that they get hit less. This isn't true... Sometimes kids get hit more." A 16-year-old recounted, "My punishment was sitting in a chair every day for 15 hours. From 7:00 A.M. in the morning until 10:00 P.M. at night, I had to sit perfectly still in a chair. I wasn't allowed to move an inch or say a word... if one person moved, everyone was beaten..."

Mrs. Kim..."There was another person arrested together with me. She was beaten so much that it made me sick to watch it... They repeatedly hit and poked the woman with a sharp stick. They kept on hitting her until her flesh ripped..."

Pastor... reported..."It is known that the prisoners in the central prison are fed with glass debris embedded in a bowl of rice. This happens quite regularly and is not a one-time incident..."

A former prison guard recalled, "They trained me not to treat the prisoners as human beings. If someone is against socialism, if someone tries to escape from prison, then kill him. If there's a record of killing any escapee, then the guard will be entitled to study in the college..."