Mick Hartley

More on the horrendous conditions endured by North Korean workers abroad, earning foreign currency for the Kim regime. The focus here is on Liaoning province, north-east China – just across the border. From the Daily NK:

Female North Korean laborers dispatched to China’s Liaoning Province, Dandong City are employed at clothing and fisheries factories. They perform difficult work under tough conditions, yet receive a wage of only 100 USD per month. To control the intellectual lives of the workers, they are ordered to participate in criticism and self-criticism sessions, their movements are restricted, and they are subject to surveillance. It is so bad, in fact, that some of the workers express a longing to return to North Korea rather than endure the conditions.

According to a source who works as a trader in Dandong, there are close to 20,000 North Korean laborers working in Dandong, all of whom work long hours and are subject to strict surveillance and control. Under usual circumstances, the laborers stay for a period of three years and receive 100 USD/month. Although this is a humble amount, if the laborers gradually save it up, they can live relatively well upon their return to North Korea. That is why the workers usually choose to continue tolerating the strict system of controls.

The Chinese companies that do business with the North Korean authorities pay an average of 500 USD per month per worker. But this profit gets spread out. First, it goes to the management and surveillance cadres on the site. The cadres tend to pocket about 50-100 USD per worker, per month. The bulk of the proceeds (around 300 USD) get sent to the Party back in North Korea. Finally, the remaining amount (about 100 USD) gets distributed to the individual workers

Not only are the North Korean laborers’ wages lower than their Chinese counterparts, but the lodging and meals provided to them are also inferior. The Chinese companies are responsible for providing personnel costs, food, lodging, etc. According to the provisions of the contract, these amenities must be provided, so the cadres do their best to avoid incurring any additional costs that might improve work conditions.

One informant, until recently employed as a quality control director at a Dandong fisheries company, said,  “The female workers from North Korea usually come into work at around 5:30 a.m. and work for approximately 13 hours per day. In addition, because of the antibacterial policies of the company, the workers wear anti-germ gear, which makes it impossible to speak to one another. So they are forced to focus on work for the entire time.”

“The only time the workers get to relax is during meals, where they are provided with only a few small side dishes, which the workers typically describe as ‘pathetic,’” the source said, adding that most of the factories are located in underdeveloped areas approximately 4-12 kilometers from downtown. Workers live in cramped quarters–approximately 10 to a room– close to the worksite. There are hundreds of people crammed into each building of the lodging facilities.

“I’ve seen plenty of workers get hurt on the job,” the source continued. “Those who wish to miss work or leave early to receive treatment at the hospital need to get permission from their North Korean supervisors. However, North Korean managers receive the personnel fee from the Chinese company in advance, and as such, they are usually quite stingy about giving out even short breaks from the job. There have been North Koreans who were unable to endure the backbreaking labor and ended up requesting to return home, but they were required to continue working until their labor equaled the personnel fee.”

Control and surveillance on the laborers are being intensified, most evident in an increase in self- and mutual criticism sessions. This has resulted in bodily, as well as mental, exhaustion for the workers….