North Korean Female Workers in China Endure Horrific Human Rights Violations, Including Sexual Crimes and Loyalty Fund Exploitation

• COVID-19 Border Closure Leaves Tens of Thousands of North Korean Female Workers Stranded in China
• North Korean Female Workers Robbed of Their Earnings by the "Loyalty Fund"
• North Korean Female Workers Endure Slavery-like Conditions and Hunger in China
• North Korean Female Workers in Unconventional Industries for Foreign Currency
• North Korean Female Workers Face Horrific Sexual Crimes and Forced Abortions by Officials
• North Korean Female Workers Struggle with Illness and Desperation, Some Fleeing Workplaces

In April, North Korean female workers making their way to a garment manufacturing plant in Hualongsi, Jilin Province, China – Photo by SAND Institute

Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic release, North Korea's stringent border closure has trapped its female workers in a harrowing reality across China, where they face a myriad of human rights abuses. These workers, most of whom are women, lead an unimaginable existence, confined within factory walls, deprived of basic freedoms, and cut off from their families for years on end. Their labor is demanded relentlessly, subjecting them to grueling hours in hazardous conditions, all to secure funds for a "loyalty fund" meant to showcase their allegiance to the authorities. To add to this horror, distressing accounts reveal that they also fall victim to sexual abuses at the hands of local North Korean officials. Trapped in this harsh environment, many suffer from mental health issues and diseases like tuberculosis, further exacerbating their plight.

● COVID-19 Border Closure Leaves Tens of Thousands of North Korean Female Workers Stranded in China

Amidst the ongoing pandemic, an unfortunate reality has emerged for North Korean female workers dispatched to China. Engaged in garment factories, seafood processing companies, and restaurants, these workers are striving to earn foreign currency for their homeland. Before December 22, 2019, some workers were repatriated under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397. However, with the border closure, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 North Korean female workers find themselves unable to return home. This mass displacement has left them stranded in various regions of China— Dandong, Dumen, Hualong, Hunchun, cut off from their families and grappling with an uncertain future.

● North Korean Female Workers Robbed of Their Earnings by the "Loyalty Fund"

The plight of North Korean female workers in Chinese garment factories is marred by exploitation and deceit. Though these workers receive wages totaling approximately $400, they are stripped of most of their earnings by the North Korean authorities under the guise of a "Loyalty Fund." Only around $100 actually reaches the workers, while the rest is siphoned away to support the regime's power and undisclosed agendas. Heartbreaking testimonies from defectors reveal that these deductions are not utilized for the welfare of North Korean citizens but rather diverted for nuclear development efforts and other clandestine purposes.

Garment Manufacturing Plant in Helong, Jilin Province, China – Where North Korean Female Workers Work / Photo by SAND Institute

● North Korean Female Workers Endure Slavery-like Conditions and Hunger in China

The lives of North Korean female workers dispatched to China are nothing short of a tragedy. These young women, often in their 20s and 30s, toil inside clothing factories, locked away from the world and subjected to conditions reminiscent of slavery. The COVID-19 border blockade has made matters worse, leaving them without communication with their families back home in North Korea. Living in crowded dormitories with limited outdoor activities, they are pushed to earn foreign currency relentlessly. Reports indicate that in regions like Jilin Province's Helong County, about 1,500 North Korean female workers have faced mistreatment and hunger, exacerbating their already dire circumstances.

● North Korean Female Workers in Unconventional Industries for Foreign Currency

Some North Korean female workers have taken on roles in unexpected industries. Previously employed in clothing factories, some workers have now been dispatched to pig farms, where labor costs are higher, to secure even the smallest unit of foreign currency. Notably, thousands of North Korean workers are reportedly involved in illicit employment across approximately 20 seafood processing plants situated in Dandong City and the nearby Dong River port in China. Furthermore, hundreds of female North Korean workers are actively engaged in earning foreign currency by working in North Korean restaurants spread across Yanji City, Beijing, Shanghai, and other locations.

● North Korean Female Workers Face Horrific Sexual Crimes and Forced Abortions by Officials

Alarming reports shed light on the vulnerability of North Korean female workers in China to sexual crimes committed by local North Korean officials. Exploiting their positions of power, including party secretaries, supervisors, and security agents, these officials subject the workers to sexual assaults, leaving them with little recourse to refuse or report such abuse due to fear of punishment or repatriation. Shockingly, if a female worker becomes pregnant, she is forcefully taken to a hospital for an abortion. To prevent North Korean women from becoming pregnant with Chinese men, managers even monitor their menstrual cycles monthly. Those who miss their periods for more than two months are subjected to pregnancy tests and forced to reveal the identity of their partner to the Ministry of State Security agents. Any involvement with a Chinese man leads to severe punishment with no escape.

● North Korean Female Workers Struggle with Illness and Desperation, Some Fleeing Workplaces

The physical and mental toll on North Korean female workers in China has become increasingly evident. Instances of depressive disorders and abnormal behavior have been reported as the harsh conditions take their toll. Disturbingly, around 150 female laborers in a garment factory in Helong, China, were reported to have contracted tuberculosis in March, highlighting the dire health conditions they endure. Tragically, the bodies of those who succumb to illness or accidents are left in local hospital refrigerators. Some female workers, unable to bear the human rights violations, have been fleeing their workplaces in desperation. In one incident, around 20 North Korean female laborers and their supervisors sent to work in Shanghai disappeared, and similar occurrences have been documented in the Helong region. As long as North Korea maintains its border closure, the plight of these female workers in China is bound to persist, casting a grim shadow over their future.