It has been claimed that thousands of North Korean workers dispatched to work in Jilin Province, northeastern China, started a series of strikes and riots at several factories in protest of non-payment of wages by the North Korean authorities.
On the 19th, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun reported this, saying it had received a ‘report on North Korean workers’ strikes and riots’ written by a North Korean source from a special assistant to Unification Minister Koh Young-hwan, who defected after serving as a North Korean diplomat.
According to a report obtained by the media, multiple companies under the North Korean Ministry of Defense that dispatched workers to China paid up to the amount equivalent to North Korean workers’ share of the wages paid by China since 2020, when traffic between North Korea and China was cut off due to the spread of COVID-19. It was sent to North Korea under the pretext of ‘war preparation funds’.
North Korean companies explained, “Once COVID-19 subsides, we will give workers the money they should receive when they return to North Korea all at once,” but in reality, this money had already been remitted to their home country.
After learning about this after traffic between North Korea and China resumed last year, angry workers began refusing work around the 11th, and the strike expanded to multiple clothing manufacturing and seafood processing subcontractor factories in Jilin Province.
In the process, it has been reported that in some cases, it escalated into riots in which factories were occupied and North Korean executives were taken hostage or machines were destroyed.
The media reported that this is the first time such large-scale protests and riots by North Korean foreign workers have been confirmed.
Afterwards, the North Korean leadership designated this disturbance as a ‘special incident’ and dispatched North Korea’s Consul General to Shenyang and State Security Agency agents to resolve the situation under the condition of immediate payment of wages. It was reported that the protests and riots had calmed down somewhat around the 15th.
However, it is known that the money to be paid to North Korean workers has been depleted and that company executives and diplomats stationed in China are being forced to divert funds, which could lead to protests or riots again.
The media reported that the report recording this incident also included content pointing out North Korean workers’ poor working conditions and serious wage arrears.
Currently, dispatching North Korean workers overseas is classified as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. However, as borders were closed due to COVID-19, up to 90,000 North Korean workers in China, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa remained in the area or earned foreign currency.
It is known that North Korean workers bribe 500 to 2,000 dollars (approximately 670,000 to 2.67 million won) to Workers’ Party officials and undergo background checks and ideological education for 10 months before leaving the country. It is said that North Korean foreign workers do simple labor for more than 15 hours a day in factories and construction sites and rarely take vacations.
The media quoted the report as saying, “More than 60% of the wages are kept by North Korean executives, and if you deduct the ‘loyalty fund’, which is an annual payment to the regime of about 8,000 dollars (about 10 million won), as well as housing and food expenses, the workers have no money. “It is said that the money they earn is around 200 to 300 dollars (approximately 270,000 to 400,000 won) per month,” the report said.
He continued, “The protests and riots that took place in China were a protest against the fact that even this money was not paid,” adding, “North Korean workers live in narrow containers, wear clothes picked up from garbage dumps, and are not allowed to go out freely or use smartphones.”
He added, “North Korea is controlling information to prevent rumors related to this incident from spreading, but if protests expand, the Kim Jong-un regime’s foreign currency earnings will be hit.”
Choi Jae-ho,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.