US Designated North Korea as 'Worst Human Trafficking Country' for 18 Consecutive Years

US State Department '2020 Trafficking in Persons Report'... North Korea Receives Lowest Rating
"North Korea is a Country That Does Not Make Efforts to Eradicate Human Trafficking"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] The U.S. Department of State has designated North Korea as the 'Worst Trafficking in Persons Country' for the 18th consecutive year.

On the 25th (local time), the U.S. Department of State classified North Korea as a Tier 3 country, the lowest rank, in its "2020 Trafficking in Persons Report."

North Korea has been designated as a Tier 3 country every year since 2003.

Tier 3 is the worst level among the three tiers (1 to 3) indicating the country's level of monitoring and combating human trafficking. It means the country neither makes efforts to prevent trafficking nor meets even the minimum standards and regulations.

The Department of State stated in the report, "The North Korean government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has not made significant efforts to do so, remaining at Tier 3."

It also pointed out forced labor involving large numbers of adults and children, detention camps and labor reform facilities as part of the political repression system, and forced labor imposed on overseas workers, evaluating that the North Korean government has shown no efforts to address human trafficking.

The Department of State noted, "North Korea funded government functions and other illicit activities with proceeds from government-sponsored forced labor."

Among the Tier 3 countries, including North Korea, there are 19 countries such as China, Iran, Cuba, Syria, and Venezuela.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.