These illustrated messages of misery by a
man who survived more than two years in a
North Korean prison camp show the unimaginable
horrors prisoners are put through. North Korean
defector Kim Kwang-il, who was jailed for
travelling to China to sell pine mushrooms,
submitted the disturbing illustrations - depicting
torture, abuse and starvation. The sketches
shed more light on what life is like inside
North Korea. This image shows prisoners being
forced to stand in stress positions - which
they describe as 'pigeon torture'.
The prisoners are made to stand in the stress
position for three days straight - enduring
agonising pain.
A drawing of a prison guard kicking a man
into a small cupboard illustrates how prisoners
are forced to live in confined spaces.
Another constant for many North Koreans is
the threat of starvation. To survive, hungry
prisoners result to eating mice and snakes.
The corpses of prisoners are typically eaten
by mice or sent to the crematorium by other
starving prisoners.
The sketches are part of a damning UN report
that directly accuses leader Kim Jong-un of
committing crimes against humanity, reminiscent
of Nazi Germany.
The 400-page report calls for Kim to face
charges in the International Criminal Court
- including the extermination, starvation
and enslavement of the country's population.
