MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. There are no “camps for political prisoners” in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea’s ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun-joon said Thursday in an exclusive interview with TASS.

“As regards propaganda on the part of the United States and Western countries on alleged ‘camps for political prisoners’ and 'labor colonies’, there are no political prisoners in our country at all, so there can be no talk of such camps,” the ambassador said.

“The ‘labor colonies’ they are making so much noise about are penal institutions in one of which convicted US national Kennet Bae (Pae Jun Ho) is serving his time. We have never made and are not making a secret out of the presence of such labor colonies in the country,” Kim said.

Kenneth Bae is a Korean-American missionary convicted by North Korea on charges of planning to depose the DPRK government. He was sentenced to a 15-year prison term in April 2013.

“The United States, which has historically launched different hostile actions against the DPRK, including political pressure, military threats, economic sanctions and blockade, is now speaking of human rights problems, and it is not doing so out of benevolent intentions regarding our nation,” the diplomat said.

This is the first interview of Ambassador Kim to Russian media.