{"id":47020,"date":"2020-11-21T07:23:13","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T22:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=47020"},"modified":"2026-04-05T14:40:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:40:47","slug":"north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in places such as China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN Security Council (Resolution 2397, which calls for the return of all North Korean laborers dispatched overseas by December 2019).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean authorities are not recalling their workers, citing COVID-19 as an excuse, and recently, they have increased the amount of work laborers are doing as part of efforts to increase the funds the workers \u201cdonate\u201d to the state.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a Daily NK source in China on Thursday, North Korean authorities have never ordered North Korean workers in China to return home this year. The workers were also forced to remain isolated in their residences in February and March, when factories and restaurants in China were closed due to COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean laborers are currently working in clothing, electronics and seafood processing factories, as well as in North Korean restaurants, in Dandong, Liaoning Province, and in Jilin Province.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exact number of North Korean laborers dispatched to China is unknown, but Daily NK believes that there are around 25,000 to 30,000 workers in Jilin Province alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40222\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40222\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40222\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374.jpg\" alt=\"North Korean laborers in Dandong waiting en route back to North Korea\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-696x418.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-1068x641.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/KakaoTalk_20170904_152103374-700x420.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40222\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">North Korean laborers at China&#8217;s Dandong Station waiting en route back to North Korea. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to diplomatic source in China, North Korean authorities recently handed down an order to laborers dispatched to China. The order called for the workers to comply with quarantine guidelines even while overseas; for expatriate workers to take active part in the \u201cmovement to earn foreign currency\u201d to &#8220;show concern for the difficult circumstances the country faces&#8221;; and, for workers in China to contribute their personal funds to the nation and people\u2019s economy during the so-called \u201c80-day battle.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is to say, the government is demanding that laborers donate their personal salaries to the Workers&#8217; Party as a show of loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government cadres managing the laborers overseas are, in accordance with the order, raising the intensity of the work the workers are engaged in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are reportedly cases in which female workers at restaurants work in the eateries in the day and in karaoke clubs at night, while factory workers perform different duties during day and night shifts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are even cases of laborers working while sleeping only three hours a day,\u201d said the source. \u201cNot only do they have no time to rest, but during their breaks they attend evaluation meetings. They are all suffering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily NK <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%EC%9E%AC%EC%A4%91-%E5%8C%97-%EB%85%B8%EB%8F%99%EC%9E%90-%EB%98%90-%EC%A4%91%EB%85%B8%EB%8F%99%EC%97%90-%EC%8B%9C%EB%8B%AC%EB%A0%A4-%EC%9D%B4%EB%B2%88%EC%97%94-%EB%8F%99%EB%B3%B5-%EC%A0%9C\/\">reported previously<\/a> (in Korean) that North Korean workers at a clothing factory in Dandong were recently subject to high-intensity labor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_40080\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40080\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0.jpg\" alt=\"North Korean workers at a textile factory in Jilin, China in 2017\" width=\"1200\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-696x418.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-1068x641.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/170811-\uae38\ub9bc\uc131-\ubd81\ud55c-\ub178\ub3d9\uc790-\uc218\uc785-\uae08\uc9c0-\uae30\uc0ac-\ub3c4\ubb38\uc911\uc18c\uae30\uc5c5\ubd80\uac00\ud654\uc9c0-700x420.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">North Korean workers at a textile factory in Jilin Province, China, in 2017. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasizing the donation of \u201cloyalty funds\u201d with the 80-day battle as a pretext, a laborer management official (cadre) in Liaoning province reportedly sent RMB 2,000 of the laborers\u2019 RMB 2,300 monthly salary to the Workers\u2019 Party without the workers\u2019 permission. All that was left of the workers\u2019 salary was enough to buy meals. There are 200 North Korean laborers at the factory, so RMB 400,000 (about USD 61,000) a month was \u201cdonated\u201d to the party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because the authorities have ordered workers to offer their personal salaries to the party as a sign of loyalty, laborers who have been extorted out of their wages have no way to complain about the injustice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even so, the quality of the meals provided to the workers has reportedly improved somewhat compared to the past.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe side dishes and snacks are better than they were when the factories closed and the workers were isolated in their residences,\u201d said the source. \u201cSometimes there\u2019s even fruit, but compared to the work, it\u2019s hard to say that the meals are enough.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%EB%82%AE%EC%97%94-%EC%8B%9D%EB%8B%B9-%EB%B0%A4%EC%97%94-%EB%85%B8%EB%9E%98%EB%B0%A9-%E4%B8%AD%EC%B2%B4%EB%A5%98-%E5%8C%97-%EB%85%B8%EB%8F%99%EC%9E%90-%EC%B6%A9%EC%84%B1%EC%9E%90%EA%B8%88\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in places such as China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN Security Council (Resolution 2397, which calls for the return of all North Korean laborers dispatched overseas by December 2019). North Korean authorities are not recalling their workers, citing COVID-19 as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":40306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,645],"tags":[759,930,1017,1138],"class_list":["post-47020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-economy","tag-china","tag-foreign-currency","tag-russia","tag-overseas-workers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mun Dong Hui\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mun Dong Hui\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mun Dong Hui\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f849d1af9f17b1e55ff69fe16696b107\"},\"headline\":\"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":648,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"china\",\"foreign currency\",\"russia\",\"overseas workers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/\",\"name\":\"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"FILE PHOTO: North Korean smugglers unloading goods in Dandong, China, in 2017. (Daily NK)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Daily NK English\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Daily NK English\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"description\":\"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f849d1af9f17b1e55ff69fe16696b107\",\"name\":\"Mun Dong Hui\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Mun Dong Hui\"},\"description\":\"Mun Dong Hui is one of Daily NK's full-time reporters and covers North Korean technology and human rights issues, including the country's political prison camp system. Mun has a M.A. in Sociology from Hanyang University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Jeonbuk National University. He can be reached at dhmun@uni-media.net\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/mun-dong-hui\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad","og_description":"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mun Dong Hui","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mun Dong Hui","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/"},"author":{"name":"Mun Dong Hui","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/f849d1af9f17b1e55ff69fe16696b107"},"headline":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad","datePublished":"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/"},"wordCount":648,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg","keywords":["china","foreign currency","russia","overseas workers"],"articleSection":["News","Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/","name":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-20T22:23:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00","description":"North Korean laborers are continuing to earn foreign currency in China and Russia, despite sanctions placed on North Korea by the UN.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/170615-\ubd81\ud55c\ubc00\uc218\ud604\uc7a5.jpg","width":1200,"height":720,"caption":"FILE PHOTO: North Korean smugglers unloading goods in Dandong, China, in 2017. (Daily NK)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/north-korean-laborers-continue-earn-foreign-currency-abroad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"N. Korean laborers continue to earn foreign currency abroad"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Daily NK English","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","width":272,"height":90,"caption":"Daily NK English"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"description":"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.","email":"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net","telephone":"82-2-732-6998","legalName":"DailyNK","foundingDate":"2004-12-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/f849d1af9f17b1e55ff69fe16696b107","name":"Mun Dong Hui","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/1654218791150-150x150.jpg","caption":"Mun Dong Hui"},"description":"Mun Dong Hui is one of Daily NK's full-time reporters and covers North Korean technology and human rights issues, including the country's political prison camp system. Mun has a M.A. in Sociology from Hanyang University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Jeonbuk National University. He can be reached at dhmun@uni-media.net","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/mun-dong-hui\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47021,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47020\/revisions\/47021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}