Report on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances 2016 II.3 Date of detention III.3 Place of detention Location: Yodok County, South Hamgyong Province Province: Country: Democratic People's Republic of Korea Prison name: Yodok political prison camp (kwanliso) No. 15 IV.3 Responsible forces Ill treatments: MISSING PERSON V. Steps Taken 1 Date: Authority: DPRK VI. Information concerning the author of the present report Confidential Date of submission: 02-Jun-2023 VII. Summary Session: 131 INFORMATION FROM SOURCE Date: 02-Jun-2023 According to the information received: Mr. Park Hyeok-Cheol (박 혁철), a discharged soldier, born on 7 May 1992 in Sunchon City, South Pyongan Province of the DPRK, was allegedly arbitrarily detained in July 2015 by officials of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and forcibly returned to the DPRK. It is reported that in 2014, Mr. Park had been discharged from the mandatory military service and lived in his native city of Sunchon. In July 2015, Mr. Park managed to leave the DPRK through China with the help of a broker. During his journey, Mr. Park was reportedly able to contact his family regularly. However, Chinese officials from the Ministry of Public Security detained him, as he travelled on a bus towards Mongolia in his attempt to go to the Republic of Korea. Moreover, it is believed that Mr. Park was taken to the Tumen detention center in Jilin, China before being transferred to the State Security Department of the DPRK (국가안전보위부), renamed in 2016 as the Ministry of State Security (국가안전보위성). In November 2015, it is reported that the family received unofficial information from an acquaintance that Mr. Park was detained in the province-level State Security Department's premises, in Chongjin City, North Hamgyong Province. According to this information, Mr. Park had been severely beaten, extremely malnourished, and suffered from tuberculosis when he was detained in Chongjin City. After six-months of detention, it is reported thatbetween late 2015 and 2016, Mr. Park was transferred to Yodok political prison camp (kwanliso) No. 15. At the time of the present communication, the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Park Hyeok-Cheol remain unknown. 2