US calls for North Korea to shut 'evil' prison camps

New York: US Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for North Korea to shut down its "evil system" of prison camps.

Kerry spoke at a gathering of foreign officials and activists on Tuesday to draw attention to the findings of a UN commission of inquiry that in February concluded that North Korea's authoritarian government had committed crimes against humanity.

Kerry said that abuses detailed in the commission's 400-page report "have no place in the 21st century." The UN commission estimated that between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are currently detained in four large camps, where deliberate starvation has been used as a means of control and punishment.

Kerry called for North Korea to acknowledge the abuses and hold those responsible to account.