The change in use of Camp No. 22 in Hoiryeong City in North Hamkyung Province is almost complete according to a Daily NK source. The land contained in the Camp has seemingly been turned over to civilians for use.
The source told the Daily NK on the 27th that prisoners and management staff of the camp have been moved on. The camps inhabitants have been replaced by locals to farm the land. The source said that, “There is not one person left, and the newly arrived farmers are busy preparing compost for next year farming.”
The Daily NK source said that, “All the Hoiryeong-ri farmland that was part of the prison camp has reverted to Hoiryeong Farm.” Locals have taken on the responsibility of agrarian work as opposed to the management of the land by a special management committee.
Another hint at the change of use of the land comes from the phone number used by the Hoiryeong work teams on the new farmland. Previously the phone numbers used at the Camp were the special numbers used by the National Security Agency. This has changed to, “using Hoiryeong City numbers that start with ‘077’ instead.”
The source concluded their outline of the new use of the land by stating that, “The area no longer gives the impression of being a prison camp area.” This is also backed up by the source saying that the new arrivals have taken over the Camp’s housing.
Source: Daily NK
