Korean Atrocity

As there was no clear victor at the conclusion of the Korean War, no war crime trials were held. But, as this book reveals, there is evidence of at least 1,600 atrocities and war crimes perpetrated against troops serving with the United Nations command in Korea. The bulk of the victims were Americans but many British servicemen were tortured, killed or simply went missing. Much of the carefully researched material in this book is horrific but the stark truth is that those North Koreans and Chinese responsible went unpunished for their shameful deeds. Korean Atrocity examines the three phases of this little known but bitter conflict from the POWs’ perspective – the first phase when the two warring factions fought themselves to a stalemate, next, the treatment of POWs in North Korea and China, and finally the repatriation/post active conflict period. During the third phase it was realised that a staggering 7956 Americans and 100 British servicemen were unaccounted for. Many POWs were not released until two years after the end of hostilities. Bizarrely the US Government insisted on a news black-out on those left behind which raises questions as to what has been done to find the missing. This is a shocking, sobering and thought-provoking book.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has a reputation as one of the worst human rights situations in the world. This book utilizes a unique international law perspective to examine the actions and inactions of North Korea with regard to international security and human rights. Adopting political, military, historical and legal perspectives, the book explores how the two issues of nuclear weapons and the human rights abuses in North Korea are interconnected, and why the international community should apply the same international law framework to find a solution for both. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, such as refugee and defector testimony, Morse Tan offers a real-life story of North Korea that covers the pertinent law, and constructive approaches of its regime. Tan examines the specific objectives and actions of the North Korean government, and measures these according to international legal obligations such as applicable treaty law, jus cogens norms, and customary international law. The book concludes by offering solutions for dealing with international security surrounding the Korean Peninsula, and forwards a proposal for the creation of a tribunal to prosecute those at the top of the regime for international crimes and human rights abuses. As a project exploring the extremes of international law violation, this book will be of great interest and use to readers interested in the history, and political and legal implications of the strategies employed by the North Korea government.