Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of North Korea has ordered the capacity of its prison camps to be expanded.

The UK is deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the DPRK. We are aware of reports that the North Korean government has ordered the expansion of political prison camps in the country. We are unable to verify this activity but the UK remains clear that the DPRK must address the many reports of serious and wide-ranging human rights violations in North Korea, including the arbitrary detention of its citizens. That is why in July 2020, the UK designated two DPRK entities through the Global Human Rights (GHR) sanctions regime, including the Ministry of State Security Bureau 7 and Ministry of People's Security Correctional Bureau, which together are responsible for the country's notorious prison camp system. The UK continues to urge improvements in the DPRK human rights situation, and regularly raises these concerns, including on prison camps, in international fora and directly with the DPRK authorities.