Three North Korean workers recently disappeared in the Chinese city of Dandong, leading the North Korean government to go on full alert to prevent the disappearances from influencing other workers to do the same.
A source in China told Daily NK on Tuesday that the North Korean workers had been working at a clothing factory near Dandong and ran off on Oct. 12. The escapees, one man and two women, have yet to be found, he added.
“They seemed to have planned their escape beforehand,” the source said. “As there are hardly any men at the clothing factory, the man could be a manager.”
Little is known so far about the relationship between the three or their whereabouts. Why they disappeared remains unknown, said the source, given that they stole no money before they fled.
Because of COVID-19, the trio would have a tough time fleeing to the cities of Shenyang, Jilin or Changchun, the source said, adding, “They might still be hiding in Dandong, watching the situation.”
Chinese authorities have been intensifying restrictions everywhere amid signs of a coronavirus resurgence, closing crowded facilities and suspending public transportation. In these circumstances, North Korean laborers would likely find it difficult to travel to other regions from Dandong.
North Korean officials, for their part, are focusing on tracking down the AWOL trio, while doing everything they can to stop other workers from escaping, too.
“Because of the incident, the North Korean leadership forbade everyone — including North Korean trade representatives — from leaving their residences,” said the source. “It’s impossible to go anywhere or act without reporting it up the line first.”
Although the authorities are trying to prevent the incident from impacting the thinking of other laborers, an atmosphere of trouble is already descending upon workers, the source said.
The mood among the workers is even more unsettled because North Korea has been pushing a plan to rotate its workers after the Chinese Communist Party Congress (which was held on Oct. 16), he added.
“[The unsettled mood] is due to the fact that many workers facing repatriation will face debts or other difficulties if they return to North Korea,” the source said.
In fact, even though North Korean workers in China have seen their income fall over the last three years due to COVID-19, they still had to pay contributions to the Workers’ Party. As a result, many of the workers have been unable to properly save money. Moreover, workers’ family members in North Korea often borrow money thanks to their connections with their relatives working overseas, meaning many workers in China fear returning home empty-handed and unable to pay off the debts.
The source said it is unlikely that laborers to be repatriated soon will be sent overseas again.
“That’s why there’s many people thinking of running off while they are still in China,” he added.
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