Report on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Session:
126
INFORMATION FROM SOURCE
Date: 10-Jan-2022
It was reported that:
Ms. Hye-Yeong Kim, born on 22 February 1972, was abducted in April 2009 in Tonghua (通化), Jilin Province, China by DPRK
agents who presumably acted in concert with the Chinese authorities. It is believed that Ms. Kim was transferred to an underground
prison in the State Security Department detention center in Hyesan city, DPRK. However, persons associated with Ms. Kim's did
not receive any information from the DPRK authorities as to her fate and whereabouts. They learned from informal sources that
Ms. Kim suffered from tuberculosis while in detention and eventually had to be hospitalized. Despite her severe health condition,
Ms. Kim was sentenced to 10 years of political prison camp between October and November 2010.
Ms. Kim is believed to have received such harsh punishment due to her prior affiliation with the North Korean government.
Working as a member of the performing arts crew, she used to organize and participate in discrete performances for high-ranking
officials.
At the time of the present communication, the fate and whereabouts of Ms. Hye-Yeong Kim remain unknown.
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