This paper draws on existing research and Robert Collins’ previous work to explain the ideological basis and institutional structure of the Kim regime’s rule of terror, with an emphasis on the political prison camps. It is intended to provide a brief overview of how North Korea’s party-state controls every individual’s life from the cradle to the grave through relentless indoctrination, surveillance, and punishment. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: What socio-political and legal dynamics shape an individual’s path to the political prison camps? How do North Koreans who are innocent beyond any reasonable doubt become criminals in the regime’s eyes? How do North Koreans who demonstrate loyalty to the Kim regime end up in an unmarked grave inside a political prison camp? Who makes these judgments, and who is responsible for enforcing them?