North Korean workers dispatched to factories in China are paying monthly premiums for workplace accident insurance, but many receive little or no compensation when they are actually injured on the job, raising questions about where the money goes.
A source with knowledge of North Korea affairs in China told Daily NK on Thursday that “workers with bandages wrapped around their hands, arms or legs are a common sight at factories employing North Korean workers.” The source added that “many of the workers are new and unfamiliar with the job, so accidents like getting a hand caught in machinery happen often.”
Injured workers sent back to the line
The clothing and seafood processing plants that employ North Korean overseas workers rely on knives, needles, packaging presses and other equipment that raise the risk of injury. Yet North Korean workers who are hurt on the job are rarely given adequate hospital treatment or time to recover, the source said. Instead, most receive basic first aid and are sent back to work almost immediately.
“If a Chinese worker gets injured on the job, it’s normal for them to get hospital treatment, take time off and be compensated through insurance,” the source said. “But North Korean workers just get quick first aid at the factory, and then go right back to work with a bandage or a cast on.”
The trouble is that North Korean workers are already paying into that same insurance system. According to the source, North Korean workers sign contracts requiring them to pay about 100 yuan a month in premiums to the Chinese company, but most have little idea what benefits they are actually entitled to if an accident happens.
“North Korean workers have this premium deducted every month, but they don’t really understand that insurance could cover hospital costs after an accident, or that they could still receive base pay if they’re unable to work while recovering,” the source said. “In many cases, they don’t even realize they’re enrolled in insurance in the first place.”
Chinese coworkers who work alongside North Korean laborers have reportedly voiced frustration, unable to understand why their North Korean counterparts don’t use insurance to cover medical costs or lost wages when the option is available to them.
Questions over where the premiums go
The gap between what workers pay and what they receive has fueled broader questions about whether the premiums are being handled properly at all, and who actually collects a payout if one is issued. “Among Chinese workers, there’s talk that nobody really knows what happens to the insurance premiums North Korean workers pay,” the source said.
The source attributed this uncertainty to the closed management structure surrounding North Korean overseas workers, which makes it difficult for outsiders to determine who is formally enrolled in the insurance contracts, under what conditions payouts are issued, or whether North Korean handlers collect any compensation on workers’ behalf.
That same structure discourages Chinese coworkers from stepping in to help, even when they want to. “Chinese people think that of course you should rest and get treatment if you’re hurt at work,” the source said. “But North Korean workers operate under strict control from their handlers, so it’s hard to intervene. There’s a language barrier too, and people worry about getting on the factory owner’s bad side, so mostly they can only watch and feel bad about it.”
North Korean workers are also largely cut off from seeking outside information or contacting insurers or hospitals directly, the source noted, leaving them effectively carrying the financial burden of the premiums while being excluded from the compensation process itself.
“It’s a shame that these workers get hurt on the job and are sent right back to work after nothing more than first aid,” the source said. “Because everything about how they’re managed is treated like a secret, there are probably a lot of problems like this that never come to light.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
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September 11, 2026 at 02:23PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)