Since last year, North Korean workers in China have been limited to only commuting between their workplaces and dormitories in order to avoid COVID-19. In the midst of this, news of a female worker found engaging in prostitution has sent the authorities into a state of panic.
According to a Daily NK source in China on Feb. 1, a female North Korean worker at a clothing company in Dandong, Liaoning Province, was found to be pregnant and her pregnancy was reported to the North Korean authorities.
The woman is in her early 20s and was not aware that she was pregnant. However, as her stomach gradually started to get larger, her colleagues began to suspect her pregnancy. After they reported this to their superiors, the North Korean consulate in China set out to get to the bottom of it.
The source said that those staying in the clothing factory’s dormitory where the woman works are not allowed to meet with outsiders. Furthermore, ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, company officials from Chinese companies have been unable to enter factories that have North Korean female workers unless it is for urgent business reasons.
When the woman’s pregnancy became known, there was some speculation that her pregnancy might have been caused by sexual abuse from a male North Korean cadre.
However, the inquiry found that prostitution was taking place when the Chinese manager of the factory, who had a keen interest in her, asked the North Korean cadre who manages the workers to arrange meetings with the woman.
In addition, the authorities confirmed that the North Korean cadre mediated her prostitution when he took her outside of the factory and the Chinese manager handed him RMB 2,000 (USD 310).
It was also revealed that the woman received RMB 1,000 (USD 155) from the Chinese manager. It has yet to be determined if prostitution was carried out with her consent, or if it was because of coercion from the North Korean cadre.
The source reported that there have been cases of prostitution by North Korean female workers dispatched overseas in the past. However, after they were reported to the authorities, the majority of the cases were never officially investigated.
The source also told Daily NK that the North Korean cadre that mediated prostitution and collected money was fired immediately.
According to the source, the North Korean cadre is currently being detained at his home under the surveillance of the Ministry of State Security, and he is awaiting his return to North Korea. Once sent back to North Korea it is highly likely that he will receive severe punishment, the source said.
The woman, for her part, has returned to work, but it is unclear whether she will be able to give birth as scheduled. The source stated that she will find it difficult to avoid punishment after returning to North Korea.
“Due to COVID-19, the North Korean cadre who had a difficult time earning money thought it would be easy to make money by accepting the Chinese manager’s proposition,” the source said, adding, “The [North Korean] authorities are still demanding party funds despite the closure of the border [between North Korean and China] and the fact that people’s sojourn periods [in China] have been prolonged. Because it is difficult to earn money [in this situation] this kind of deviant behavior will only increase.”
*Translated by Grant Everett
