North Korea's Nightmarish Prison System Is Expanding

One of North Korea's brutal prison camps "was significantly expanded between 2009 and 2010," according to a new analysis of satellite imagery.

North Korea's prison camps have been compared to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany.

Satellite images released today by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) & U.S. commercial satellite image company DigitalGlobe show that North Korea's Camp 25 appears to have added agriculture, buildings, and guard posts.

The camp is believed to house about 5,000 prisoners in miserable conditions, and the report notes that "there is an even chance that the prisoner population has increased or that the camp is preparing for growth in the near future."

Here's an overview of Camp 25 in 2003:

The first signs of major expansion can be seen in 2007:

By May 2012 the reason why there were 23 perimeter guard posts added becomes more clear:

Here's a look — from January 5, 2013 — that shows how the camp has been carved into the landscape.