A U.S. Senate committee is seeking ways to establish a database on the realities of prisons and political prison camps in North Korea and relay that information on the Internet.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Patrick Leahy, submitted a bill to the Senate Committee on Appropriations last month urging for the establishment of the database via the National Endowment for Democracy.

The bill also called for regular upgrades to the database and that it be made available online.

The legislation also included ways to allocate funds specifically to help North Korean escapees and protect them in China. It further calls for the provision of nearly nine-million dollars to a broadcasting firm that airs programs targeted at North Koreans.