North Korea news: Horror was woman forced to strangle own baby by guards
GETTY North Korea news: Horror stories are emerging from Kim Jong-un's gulags
The prisoner was told she had two options: to kill her own newborn or die herself, leaving the baby in the hands of Kim Jong-un’s demented henchmen. She chose to end her baby’s life in horrific circumstances - a harrowing tale of life inside Kim’s hermit state revealed by a fellow prisoner who eventually made it to freedom. Hannah, whose name has been changed to protect the identity of her remaining family members in North Korea, was scarred by the scenes she witnessed inside the prison - especially the horrific choice forced upon her fellow inmate. She told Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog, the heartbreaking scenario had unfolded in front of her after she and her family were locked up while attempting to flee the hermit state.
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She said: “We had hardly arrived when we had to witness the most terrible scene. There was a lady who was pregnant with the child of Chinese man. Race is very important in North Korea; the pure North Korean race may never be defiled. To mix Korean blood with Chinese blood is a terrible crime. “The lady gave birth to the child in the prison. The guard ordered the mother to kill her own child, but she couldn’t. The guard threatened another woman by telling her if she killed the baby, the guard would let her live. “He put his gun against her head and the inmate had no other choice then to strangle the boy until he died. And we had to watch the whole thing.” It is just one tale of life inside Kim’s horrific prison camps, where enemies of the state including attempted defectors, Christians and rebels, are held.
Hannah said she and her family were locked away in separate cells without food or water after guards discovered they were Christian - a huge crime in a country where only the Kim dynasty can be idolised. Her family were starved and beaten before finally being released. She said: “My husband was treated badly. He told the guards that he had become a believer. Later he said he had no other choice. After he saw what they did with the baby and the guards threatened to kill his family, he had to tell them the truth. “After his confession, all four of us were locked up in solitary confinement - a small cage. We didn’t receive any food or water and were not able to sleep.
GETTY North Korea news: A satellite image of one of Kim Jong-un's horror camps
“Prisoners in solitary confinement were badly beaten up. Nobody dared to resist because you’d only make the torture worse.” She said her husband ignored the beatings and remained true to his Christian belief despite horrific treatment at the hands of prison guards. Hannah said: “The more they tortured him, the harder he defended his faith. He yelled at them, ‘If believing in God is a sin, I’d rather die! Just kill me! It’s my mission to live according to God’s will!’ “But each time he spoke out against them, they stripped him of his clothes and beat him up as if he was an animal. His flesh was torn and ripped. When he lost his consciousness, they woke him up and started again.
GETTY In North Korea only Kim can be idolised - Christians are punished severely