N. Korea runs alleged secret prison at Beijing embassy: report

A North Korean secret detention facility allegedly exists within the embassy in Beijing, China, according to a report released by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG). The report, titled "North Korea's Transnational Repression: China," claims the facility is located in the basement of the embassy and is overseen by a North Korean intelligence officer acting as a security representative.

The facility is used for the interrogation and repatriation of North Koreans deemed threats to the regime, with cases reported to Pyongyang within 12-24 hours. The report details the case of North Korean hacker Pae Yong-ju, who was arrested by Chinese authorities, transferred to the North Korean consulate in Shenyang, and then allegedly sent back to North Korea disguised as a disabled patient.

Pae was reported to have died three years after his repatriation. The report criticizes North Korea's actions as a serious international crime, human rights violation, and detrimental to China's judicial sovereignty and due process. It calls for the international community to monitor China's handling of North Korea's human rights abuses.