By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters). A U.N. human rights expert urged North Korea Monday to free tens, thousands of prisoners believed to be held captive in political prison camps. The U.N. also urged the regional and international powers to discuss these issues with Pyongyang as well as nuclear matters.

Tomas Ojea Quintana claimed that an U.N.-led investigation from 2014 found that camps housed up to 120,000 prisoners and that they continue to be the subject of allegations.

Ojea Quintana stated that he had heard of accounts saying the system in North Korea would collapse if there were no political prison camps.

He noted that prisoners were sometimes granted amnesties and said: “I urge the leadership to keep releasing prisoners, especially the most vulnerable. And ultimately I demand the destruction of these facilities.”

Ojea Quintana claimed that North Korea’s system of ‘kwanliso’, political prison camps or a system of similar structures was guilty of crimes against humanity. Pyongyang denied the accusation and called for justice to be served on those who committed them.

North Korea, which repeatedly denies the existence of any political prison camps in its territory, didn’t take part in the discussion. The North Korean government has accused the West of criticizing human rights in a hostilitarian policy.

Ojea Quintana stated that North Korean authorities must be aware of the urgency to act on crimes committed. “Forced labour is being done in some coal mines as well as other mines by prisoners held in political prisoner camps.”

FOODS SHORTAGES

Addressing the Human Rights Council earlier, he asked North Korea to open its borders to humanitarian workers and imports of food. He stated that the country’s continued isolation during the COVID-19 epidemic may have led to many people facing hunger and starvation.

He said that 40% of the nation’s population is without adequate food supply. “Now, with strict COVID-19 regulations, there are grave concerns about the possibility of hunger or starvation among the most vulnerable sections of the country.”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, (DPRK), has not reported any COVID-19 instances and has implemented strict anti-virus measures ever since the pandemic’s onset two years back. These include border closings and travel restrictions within its borders.

After the restriction, foreign aid agencies and embassies fled the country in large numbers.

“We remain deeply concerned about the DPRK’s systematic, widespread human rights violations, including torture, enslavement, and arbitrary imprisonment,” U.S. diplomat Daniel Murphy told the council.

North Korea doesn’t recognize Ojea Quintana as U.N. special raporteur on human rights in DPRK.

According to South Korea’s military, North Korea fired a multiple short-range rocket launcher Sunday. This was amid increased military tensions in the region following a series of large-scale missile launches from the nuclear-armed North.