North Korean workers continue to exit China in the new year, increasing the burden on those who remain behind.
“North Korean laborers stationed in Dandong, Liaoning province, are returning to Sinuiju daily,” a source in China told Daily NK recently. “Around 100 workers at a time board buses bound for North Korea.”
The daily exodus has slowed somewhat since October, when about 200 workers were departing each day.
While workers continue to leave, no new North Korean laborers have arrived in Liaoning province recently.
This has left Liaoning’s industrial zones, which traditionally relied heavily on North Korean labor, without replacement workers. Small groups of North Korean laborers have only been dispatched to less-visited areas of Jilin province along the North Korean border.
The remaining workers face increasingly demanding conditions.
At one Dandong textile factory, North Korean workers now endure 13-hour shifts – from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. – up from their previous 11-hour workday. This intensified schedule began in November as departures accelerated.
“Those left behind are shouldering much more work,” the source said. “They’re struggling with physical and mental exhaustion from the endless workdays.”
Despite the increased workload, North Korean companies managing these workers haven’t provided overtime pay.
In a textile factory near Donggang, workers still receive their standard 2,200 yuan ($308) wage despite working until 10 p.m. daily for two months straight.
Their only additional compensation has been extra meat at meals, with management buying one pig monthly in December and January. Workers have expressed frustration at this token gesture instead of proper overtime pay.
“I hear workers saying they’d prefer cash compensation over pork for these harsh conditions,” the source said. “But their North Korean managers just want to pacify them with bits of meat, claiming the workload will ease this month.”
As the exodus continues, smaller Chinese factories employing fewer than 100 North Korean workers have shut down.
Yet these factories haven’t sought compensation from Chinese authorities, despite their losses, since Beijing controls all policies regarding North Korean workers.
“Factory owners in China’s northeastern provinces, who set up there for cheap North Korean labor, are now relocating south,” the source said. “They’ve lost confidence in getting new North Korean workers.”
February 21, 2025 at 01:15PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)