Four North Korean youths could face a year in brutal forced labour camps after reportedly being arrested for 'talking like South Koreans'.

The group, all in their twenties, were arrested in Chongjin, the country's third largest city, after being reported for mimicking lines from South Korean films.

State security authorities were tipped off by a local residents who had overheard the four.

The young adults are currently being questioned by Chongjin's Ministry of State Security and could be sentenced to a year in Kim Jong-un's cruel labour camps, according to Daily NK.

North Korea has increasingly cracked down on what it claims are South Korean influences in recent years.