But less than a decade later,
"I believe you will be very disturbed and distressed by it and that you will have reaction similar to those of (U.S.) General Eisenhower and the others who came upon the camps in post-war Europe," head investigator Michael Kirby told Reuters.
Around 200,000 people are currently imprisoned in these camps, while some 400,000 people have died there, according to reports by Amnesty International and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
The Hermit Kingdom has repeatedly denied such reports, but Kim Jong-un cannot hide from satellite imagery and the growing number of escapees who testified about the regime's abuse.
We have gathered some details from inside along with satellite images and a set of unconfirmed illustrations supposedly done by a defector give a hint of the terror inside. Be warned: The following content is disturbing.