North Korea Designated as "Worst Human Trafficking Country" for 23 Consecutive Years

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un is taking a commemorative photo at Mokran Hall in Pyongyang on August 29. Photo by Korean Central News Agency

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North Korea has been designated as Tier 3, the lowest ranking, for the 23rd consecutive year in the U.S. government's annual country-by-country "Trafficking in Persons Report."

The U.S. Department of State designated North Korea as Tier 3 in the "2025 Trafficking in Persons Report" released on the 29th (local time). North Korea has been classified as Tier 3 every year since 2003, maintaining this status for 23 years as of this year.

The State Department stated, "The North Korean government has not demonstrated any meaningful efforts to address human trafficking," and pointed out that the government is involved in trafficking in political prison camps and labor re-education centers, as well as forcing North Korean workers overseas into forced labor.

The State Department recommended that North Korea eradicate state-sponsored forced labor, cease the practice of punishing forcibly repatriated defectors with forced labor, and stop monitoring and confiscating wages of overseas dispatched workers.

Since 2001, the United States has published the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act (TVPA) report annually and submitted it to Congress. This report classifies countries into four categories-Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and the Tier 2 Watch List-based on the TVPA standards and related efforts, and provides country-specific recommendations.

The State Department assigned Tier 3 status to a total of 20 countries, including North Korea, Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia.

South Korea was classified as Tier 1, the same as last year. South Korea was downgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2 for the first time in 20 years in the 2022 report, but returned to Tier 1 last year.

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