North Korea recently ordered its officials to pay attention to protecting the rights of workers sent to China. The order appears to be a response to international criticism of human rights violations suffered by North Korean workers deployed overseas.
In late February, The New Yorker reported on serious human rights abuses suffered by North Korean workers in Chinese seafood processing plants, based on an investigation by the non-profit investigative journalism outfit, the “Outlaw Ocean Project.”
According to The New Yorker story, North Korean workers who agreed to be interviewed said, “They [the officials who supervise the workers] kicked us and treated us as subhuman” and “When they drank, they touched my body everywhere like playing with toys.”
Faced with these circumstances, some workers have chosen to take their own lives, but one worker said if somebody dies, “then the manager is responsible, so they keep it under wraps to keep it from being leaked to other workers or Chinese people.”
“Pay attention to the protection of workers’ rights”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in North Korea and another source in China said Tuesday that when international criticism of human rights abuses arose after The New Yorker story, North Korean authorities ordered managers of workers overseas to pay more attention to protecting workers’ rights and providing a safe working environment.
“The government believes that poor working conditions are a major reason for international sanctions,” the North Korean source said.
“In response, the authorities have ordered officials to draw up strict regulations for each workplace to improve working conditions, and to regularly review working conditions and systematically write monthly reports on the matter.”