Human trafficking in North Korea

Trafficking by type

Bride and sex trafficking in China

After the Soviet Union's dissolution, the North Korean regime lost their support and fell into an increasingly severe economic depression. Many factories shut down due to a lack of natural resources and an inability to pay laborers, forcing the government to drastically cut food rations.^[12] The ensuing famine exacerbated by "agricultural disasters" killed 2 million North Koreans^[12] from 1996 to 1999^[14], motivating families to migrate to the neighboring nation of China. In the decade leading to 2006, 100,000 North Korean immigrants entered China searching for food and job security.^[13] Due to North Korea's discrimination of women in the workforce, the traditional familial view of women as a burden, and the region's ever-increasing poverty, Korean women had many factors motivating them to migrate to China to find a better life. It is estimated that 80% of North Korean migrants were women as of 2019.^[11]

China's one-child policy created the perfect environment for the trafficking of North Korean women, years of "sex-selective abortions" and female infanticide leading to a surplus of about 34 million males as of 2016.^[11] China's lack of brides and the lucrative nature of the human trafficking profession served as key components that led to a high volume of trafficked Korean women. In 2019, the estimated percentage of trafficked migrant women stood at 60%.^[11] Although some North Korean women willingly agree to arranged marriages in China in order to escape extreme poverty, many brokers deceive these vulnerable women by selling them into the sex industry or to undesirable partners (such as older or disabled men).^[12] North Korean women are especially vulnerable to sexual violence due to their illegal status and fear of repatriation. Trafficked women and girls suffer a plethora of abuses, such as being forced to participate in sex, gang-rape, depraved cybersex performances, and hard labor (when sold to men in rural areas).^[12] A source reports that 15% of the women and girls who are trafficked are bought by cybersex brokers, 30% are sold as brides, and 50% are forced into prostitution.^[11]

China's legislation violates the United Nation's Refugee Convention by deeming trafficked women economic migrants, prompting the country to deport 6,000 Koreans annually.^[11] Upon deportation, North Korean defectors are charged with treason and face time in labor camps, where they are emotionally and sexually abused, tortured, and starved. In these labor camps, repatriated pregnant women are subject to induced abortions and infanticide as a way to keep North Korean lineages pure and rid the government of responsibility from financially supporting "foreign-blooded children".^[12]

Forced labor

Within North Korea, forced labor is part of an established system of political repression. North Koreans do not have a choice in the jobs they work and are not free to change jobs at will; the North Korean government determines what work each citizen will have. From April to September 2009, the government initiated a "150-Day Battle" campaign to boost the economy by requiring increased work hours and production targets of citizens, and implementing government-imposed programs, such as road building and construction work. The country initiated a second "labor mobilization" campaign, the "100-Day Battle," immediately after the initial "150-Day Battle."

The North Korean government is directly involved in subjecting North Koreans to forced labor in prison camps. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 persons are held in detention camps in remote areas of the country; many of these prisoners were not duly convicted of a criminal offense. In prison camps, all prisoners, including children, are subject to forced labor, including logging, mining, and farming for long hours under harsh conditions. Reports indicate that political prisoners endure severe conditions, including little food or medical care, and brutal punishments; many are not expected to survive. Many prisoners have fallen ill or died, due to harsh labor conditions, inadequate food, beatings, lack of medical care, and unhygienic conditions.

North Korean workers sent abroad

The North Korean government recruits workers for bilateral contracts with foreign governments, including in Russia, countries in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, East and Southeast Asia, including Mongolia, and the Middle East. There are credible reports that many North Korean workers sent abroad by the regime under these contracts are subjected to forced labor, with their movement and communications constantly under surveillance and restricted by North Korean government "minders."

Credible reports state that they face threats of government reprisals against them or their relatives in North Korea if they attempt to escape or complain to outside parties. Worker salaries are deposited into accounts controlled by the North Korean government, which keeps most of the money, claiming fees for various "voluntary" contributions to government endeavors. Workers only receive a fraction of the money paid to the North Korean government for their work.

Tens of thousands of North Korean workers are estimated to be employed in Russian logging camps, where they reportedly have only two days of rest per year and face punishments when they fail to meet production targets. Wages of some North Korean workers employed in Russia reportedly were withheld until the laborers returned home, in a coercive tactic by North Korean authorities to compel their labor. North Korean workers at joint ventures with foreign investors within North Korea are employed under arrangements similar to those that apply to overseas contract workers.

Since Kim Jong-un became leader of North Korea in 2011, the number of workers sent abroad has increased rapidly in order to obtain foreign currency and bypass international sanctions. In 2012 it was estimated that 60–65,000 North Koreans had been sent abroad to work in more than 40 countries and in 2015 these workers were estimated to number 100,000. In 2016 North Korea earned £1.6 billion (about US$2.3 billion) a year from workers sent abroad worldwide according to one source and £1 billion (about US$1.3 billion) according to another source.

In response to North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile in 2017, the U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved sanctions against North Korea, including the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months. In December 2019, some countries had still not met these obligations. The U.N Security Council has thus set a deadline of December 22, 2019, when sanctions would take effect. However, it was reported that North Korea had found ways of circumventing the sanctions and started using a loop hole that allowed tourist or student visas. The resolution forbids extending or providing workers visas, allowing North Korea to change the type of visa requested to student or travel visa. Reportedly, in 2018, hundreds of North Koreans were working in China under a trainee status. Moreover, North Korea has been sending students abroad pretending they are part of an exchange student program, while they are spending most of the time working in different businesses.