 N. Korea seen as expanding gulags: satellite imagery 
 
 By Lee Chi-dongWASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is expanding its main political prison camps, apparently due either to hikes in the number of prisoners or the consolidation of its facilities, a human rights group said here Monday.The findings came from joint research by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) and DigitalGlobe, a commercial earth image provider.An analysis of satellite photos of Camp No. "Between 2009 and 2010, the camp perimeter increased from approximately 3,710 meters to about 5,100 meters, a 37 percent expansion," it said. "It added the number of guard posts has also sharply grown.The HRNK said the reasons for the expansion could include an intensified crackdown on attempted defectors, the purge of political dissidents after Kim Jong-un assumed power, and the consolidation of the nation's political prison camp system.
– North Korea's economy may not be growing, but one of its prison camps sure seems to be. New satellite photos show that Camp 25, thought to house about 5,000 of the 200,000 people believed to be held in North Korea's gulags, has grown steadily over the past decade, reports the Washington Post. Its perimeter grew 37% between just 2009 and 2010, according to the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, which says new buildings, guard posts, and fields have been added. Experts are unsure whether the expansion of Camp 25 signals an overall growth in political prisoners in North Korea or a move to accommodate existing prisoners as other camps are downsized. "It appears that North Korea's vast system of unlawful imprisonment may be undergoing an alteration involving the consolidation of some of its political prison camps, and the expansion of others," said the executive director of the committee, according to Yonhap News.