North Korea has sent more migrant workers to China following Kim Jong Un’s recent visit.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK that three groups of 50 workers each were bused to seafood processing plants near Dandong and Donggang in China’s Liaoning province between Sept. 10 and 12.
Most of these workers are young women in their 20s and 30s with no previous overseas experience. They were reportedly recruited from Sonchon, Yomju and Cholsan counties by the provincial seafood management bureau and then vetted by the North Korean Cabinet.
After their selection was finalized, the women received 60 days of training and were told to wait for further instructions. On Sept. 7, shortly after Kim’s visit to China, the women were suddenly assembled and bused into China through the Sinuiju customs office.
The women have been assigned to factories in Dandong and Donggang—Chinese cities with thriving seafood industries that depend on cheap North Korean labor to process large volumes of fish.
“The workers will handle unskilled labor, as the Chinese requested. The reason people with no experience are being sent is because they’re easier to control,” the source said.
“In the cities, interest in working overseas has dropped because of stories about poor working conditions, unpaid wages, and sexual harassment, as well as political indoctrination and constant surveillance. But people in the provinces haven’t heard about those problems and still see overseas assignments as good opportunities,” the source explained.
Signs of warming relations
While some North Koreans worry that the latest group of workers will face harsh conditions, others believe the jobs may still be worthwhile if workers can support their families with foreign currency earnings.
The North Korean regime has long relied on sending workers overseas to earn the foreign currency needed to sustain the regime, with China serving as the biggest market for North Korean migrant workers.
North Korea has strengthened military and economic ties with Russia during the Ukraine war, leading to apparent tensions in North Korea’s relationship with China. That strain has also affected North Korean migrant workers in China.
Chinese authorities have shortened visa periods and issued fewer visas overall. As a result, large numbers of North Koreans in China have returned home, with fewer workers sent to replace them.
Reports of more North Korean migrant workers being sent to China so soon after Kim’s visit are being seen by some as concrete evidence that Pyongyang-Beijing relations are improving.
“It’s reasonable to view the new work assignments as a result of Kim Jong Un’s visit to China. Many hope that warming ties with China could ease restrictions, lower exchange rates, and improve people’s lives,” the source said.
But since hiring more North Korean migrant workers violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and highlights human rights concerns—including long hours and poor working conditions—others question whether the two countries will actually expand the number of North Koreans working in China.
