UN: "North Korea's Forced Labor Deeply Institutionalized... Modern-Day Slavery"

Testimonies of 183 North Korean Defectors Who Experienced or Witnessed Forced Labor

The United Nations (UN) criticized that forced labor in North Korea is deeply institutionalized and causes serious human rights violations, including breaches of international law.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated on the 16th (local time) in a report titled "Forced Labor in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" that forced labor in North Korea is so deeply institutionalized that it affects the lives of almost everyone and can be seen as a form of modern slavery. The report was based on testimonies from 183 defectors, victims, and witnesses of forced labor collected by the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul from 2015 to 2023.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to NK News, Volker T?rk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement, "This report vividly reveals the level of violence, suffering, and inhumane treatment that occurs during forced labor," and criticized, "Victims of forced labor in North Korea were compelled to work under unbearable conditions in all aspects of life, including wages, housing, diet, and medical care." He added, "Many women were continuously beaten and exposed to the risk of sexual violence."

The report classified North Korea's forced labor into six types: detention facilities, state-mandated compulsory labor, the military, forced conscription known as the so-called 'dolgyeokdae,' other labor mobilizations, and overseas labor for foreign currency earnings. Regarding compulsory labor, it pointed out that it is institutional forced labor with no wages, prohibition of union formation, and the risk of imprisonment if absent. It was also found that soldiers serve for more than 10 years and are deployed with the dolgyeokdae in agriculture and construction, with almost no proper safety measures or compensation.

The situation of workers dispatched overseas is not much different. The report stated, "North Korean authorities send some residents abroad to earn foreign currency," and "they confiscate 90% of their wages and seize passports, cutting off opportunities to contact their families."

OHCHR urged the UN Security Council to investigate those who violated international law by enforcing forced labor and to prosecute them at the International Criminal Court, emphasizing, "Decent work, free choice, and freedom from violence are essential components of labor rights and must be respected in all parts of society."

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