International law foundation Global Rights Compliance has released a new report (pdf) exposing how Russian businesses are exploiting North Korean workers in a state-sponsored forced labour programme which is funding North Korea’s ballistic missile programme and bolstering Russia’s war economy.
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- Report reveals North Korean workers advertised online to fuel state-sponsored forced labour programme in Russia
- Undercover investigation exposes first-hand admission from inside a Russian broker network
- North Korean workers are sent to Russia under the guise of students to evade UN sanctions
- Broker networks charge a commission of 100,000 to 150,000 rubbles per North Korean worker
- Programme funds North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile programme
- Overseas forced labour currently generates between $450m – $800m for the DPRK
- North Korean workers forced to work up to 18 hours per day, six to seven times a week, forfeiting 90% of their income to the North Korean regime
- Russia’s need to boost workforce intensified from economic pressures and demands of Ukraine war
- Workers are used in facilities essential to Russia’s war economy
- Investigation exposes some of the first images of North Korean workers in Russia
- Over 50,000 North Korean labourers estimated to be in Russia
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but “Forced labor” is the politically-correct way of saying “Slavery”, right?
I would say yes, but I am a legal layman. Some legal experts say that forced labour is a broader definition that includes but goes beyond slavery.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines forced labour as
all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.
The NGO Anti-Slavery International comes to a similar definition;
Forced labour is any work or service that people are forced to do against their will, usually under threat of punishment.
However we define (and call it), it’s a devastating situation for the people, in that case, North Koreans. We have similar things in China (particularly in the Xinjiang Region), and many other countries.