Several North Korean workers in Russia have been detained by police after getting into a fight with a group of locals, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking anonymously, a source in Russia told Daily NK on Monday that three North Korean construction workers in Primorsky Krai, in the Russian Far East, had a scuffle with Russians in a restaurant.
The three North Koreans are military construction workers, part of a relatively small group of less than ten people. After finishing their work for the day, they stopped by a local restaurant for a meal and a drink.
Veteran workers in small groups are sometimes allowed to visit local restaurants if they finish work early.
The North Koreans took their seats in the restaurant, but 40 minutes passed without a server coming by.
The Russian waiters joked with the local customers and took their orders immediately, but ignored the North Koreans’ attempts to flag them down.
Fed up, the North Korean workers began complaining to the Russian servers in their own language. “Why are you being racist to us? We’re human beings too, you know. Why don’t you take our orders?”
At first, the Russian servers played it off, saying they had planned to take the North Koreans’ orders after serving the other customers.
But when the North Korean workers refused to lower their voices, the servers lost their cool. “If you’re here to make some money, you should stick to your work and then leave. Why are you making a scene in a foreign country? Go back to your country right now,” said one.
As the mood in the restaurant darkened, other Russians present sided with the waiters, and a fight eventually broke out between the angry North Koreans and the Russians. The fight continued until Russian police were called to the scene.
“North Korean workers occasionally get into fights with Russians because of the disrespect they repeatedly encounter there,” the source said. “When North Korean workers are at a disadvantage, they have a habit of throwing nearby objects at their opponents, but fortunately this time they didn’t throw any eating utensils.”
The North Korean workers were detained by police and then released on bail of about 200,000 rubles ($2,186).
The North Korean trading company that manages the workers disciplined them after their release, the source said.
“The company assigned the troublemakers to pour concrete, which is the hardest work in construction. The workers will also have to work without pay until they’ve paid the bail the company posted on their behalf.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
August 29, 2024 at 01:15PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)