North Korea is using prisoners to provide labor for its contract manufacturing sector as part of efforts to earn foreign currency, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in North Korea told Daily NK last Tuesday that some 20 to 30% of North Korea’s contract manufacturing activities — including wigs, fake eyelashes, beadwork, hand-knit hats, clothing and tablecloths exported to China — are produced by inmates at North Korean prisons, including prisoners at forced labor camps and political prisons.
North Korea imports the raw materials for the contract manufacturing orders it receives from China, usually by freight train, and then exports the finished items back to China.
In general, North Korea gets more contract manufacturing orders from China in the winter than the summer. When business is good, the country exports items through not only Dandong, but also Hunchun or Linjiang.
According to the source, the production department of the reeducation bureau of the Ministry of Social Security and farm management bureau of the Ministry of State Security handle contract manufacturing activities at prisons. These agencies handle the entire process, from receiving orders from China to importing the raw materials, distributing the work and collecting and exporting the processed items.
When a North Korean clothing company receives an order to manufacture an item, it must pay its workers. But because prison labor is practically “free,” the authorities take 100% of the profits.
For example, North Korea receives RMB 25-50 (around USD 3.50 to 7) from China for wigs that undergo primary processing.
Thus, contract manufacturing for Chinese customers is high-income labor, considering that North Korean workers usually make no more than enough to buy a kilogram of rice in the market, and the market cost of rice — when converted into Chinese currency — is about RMB 4 or 5 (around USD 0.50 to 0.80) per kilogram.
N. Korea earns millions of dollars through contract manufacturing activities
According to China Customs, wigs and fake eyelashes accounted for 65% of North Korea’s total exports to China in May, amounting to USD 23.94 million.
Assuming that 20% of North Korea’s contract manufacturing exports are produced by prisoners, North Korean authorities essentially earned nearly USD 4.79 million in May through prisoner labor.
However, 70% of the profits earned through contract manufacturing by this forced labor goes to the state, while agencies such as the Ministry of Social Security and Ministry of State Security use the remaining 30%.
The source told Daily NK that prisoners mobilized for contract manufacturing work over 12 hours a day. If they are unable to fulfill their assigned quota, they are forced to work overtime as well.
Article 29 of the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s charter bans the use of forced labor. In its “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery” report published last year, the ILO criticized the North Korean authorities’ levying of forced labor on prisoners.
However, North Korea does not accept the ILO charter since it is not a member state of the organization, and it has never responded to the organization’s criticism of the country’s labor practices.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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