( CNN ) Catapulted into the international spotlight after the publication of a sensational biography in 2012 , Shin Dong-hyuk became the most famous North Korean defector . A soft-spoken and shy man , Shin shared his harrowing story about escaping from a total control zone called Camp 14 , giving Western audiences an accessible reading on North Korea . Over the weekend , Shin stated that parts of his stories are inaccurate , although he did not specify which aspects . He posted on Facebook that parts of his past `` that I so badly wanted to cover up can no longer be hidden . '' Blaine Harden , author of `` Escape From Camp 14 , '' wrote on his website that Shin had admitted several inaccuracies , including the length of time he spent in Camp 14 . For more : North Korean prison camp survivor admits inaccuracies . Shin 's high-profile role and now admitted inconsistencies in his story raised concerns that it could undermine human rights advocacy efforts and distract from testimonies by other North Korean refugees . `` There are a lot of people who actually have been to the ( prison ) camp and experienced it . It will be wrong for their witness accounts to lose credibility because of this incident , '' said Ahn Myeong Chul , a former North Korean camp guard who knows Shin . Peter Jung , director of the human rights group Justice for North Korea , said he 's `` worried that people testifying about North Korea will be called a liar '' but that Shin 's new revelations ca n't challenge the fact that `` North Korea control camps exist . '' Jung said that many North Korean refugees , such as Shin , suffer from major trauma after escaping the regime and called for support . `` I hope he gathers his courage and tells his story accurately and honestly , and we must help him do that . '' Scrutiny on North Korea 's human rights abuses . North Korean memoirs and testimonies can not be verified -- there are no paper trails and investigators can not interview or access witnesses in a closed society . Their stories are compared for consistency with other defectors and experts , but the process is far from foolproof . CNN has not been able to reach Shin , who noted in his social media apology that `` these will be my final words and this will likely be my final post . '' Shin 's admission of inaccuracies comes at a time of unparalleled attention on North Korea 's human rights record following a landmark U.N. Commission of Inquiry report listing abuses of the Pyongyang regime . While `` Escape From Camp 14 '' was not the sole reason for the creation of the commission , Navi Pillay , then the U.N. high commissioner for human rights , urged the probe after meeting Shin and another North Korean prison camp survivor in December 2012 . Since the commission report 's release in 2014 , the U.N. General Assembly has called for more sanctions and a referral of those responsible to the International Criminal Court . The matter remains at the U.N. Security Council , where it 's likely China would block referrals of Kim Jong Un and his leadership to the International Criminal Court . Double horror or triple horror ? Michael Kirby , chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into North Korea , said that Shin 's testimony consisted of only two paragraphs in the 400-page report and that he was only one of hundreds of North Korean witnesses . `` It 's a very small part of a very long story . And it really does n't affect the credibility of the testimony , which is online , '' he said . `` Lots of people took part ( in ) this inquiry . Their stories are powerful and convincing , and these stories do not only represent Shin but other people in North Korea . '' In a reversal of his story told for years , Shin told Harden on Friday that he had been transferred to another prison , Camp 18 , when he was 6 , instead of spending his entire life inside North Korea at the total control zone Camp 14 , the author says on his website . The distinction of whether Shin was imprisoned in Camp 14 or 18 was not a deal breaker for Kirby . `` It seems as if the issue is whether he was in the total control zone , or whether he was in an ordinary prison camp . In another words , it 's whether triple horror or double horror , '' Kirby said . Pressures . Shin bears the physical scars of torture , including a missing fingertip and burn marks on his back , according to the book . And Harden noted in his book that during the interview process , Shin at times was unreliable and `` in many crucial instances , corrected his Korean memoir '' -- an autobiography that Shin wrote in 2007 , called `` Escape to the Outside World , '' which was only published in Korean . North Korea had sought to discredit Shin . Last fall , a pro-North Korea government website released videos with English subtitles featuring a man whom Shin recognized to be his father , disputing the story that his son was ever in a prison camp . Shin responded with a statement , accusing the government of `` holding my father hostage . '' It 's unclear if the video had any bearing on the timing of Shin 's admission . Ahn , the former prison camp guard who has known Shin for seven years , said he believes the crux of Shin 's story is true and that torture in either camp is still the same . `` Shin became an icon for North Korean human rights . Whether he was in Camp 14 or Camp 18 , he is definitely a person from a political prison camp . He was born there and tortured there . '' CNN 's Judy Kwon and KJ Kwon contributed to this report .
Shin Dong-hyuk , subject of best-selling book , admits part of his stories are inaccurate . Advocates say it does n't matter which North Korean prison camp Shin was in . Some fear Shin 's admission of inaccuracies will affect views of other defectors ' testimonies .