A recent study has uncovered that North Korea and China have established a system exploiting repatriated North Koreans as forced laborers, generating significant economic gains.
The report, published on November 29th by the human rights organization Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), alleges that repatriated defectors are subjected to inhumane conditions, producing goods demanded by China. These products are then mislabeled as Chinese-made and exported globally.
The report also highlights the harrowing experiences of Ji (alias), a North Korean woman repatriated from China while pregnant. Detained in a correctional facility near the China-North Korea border, Ji recounted being subjected to brutal treatment:
“Pregnant? You wretched woman! Abort it! You want to give birth to a Chinese child?”
North Korean authorities, determined to prevent the birth of a child with Chinese lineage, forced Ji to undergo an abortion using injections and torture. Despite their efforts, the baby was born with a visible injection mark on its forehead. Authorities reportedly attempted to bury the newborn alive, prompting Ji to plead desperately for mercy.
“I begged them to wrap my baby in my clothes before burying them,” Ji said. “I’ll never forget their cruelty.”
Ji and other women repatriated from China were reportedly confined in correctional facilities near the border, where they were forced into slave labor. Using raw materials sent from China, detainees manufactured handmade wigs, artificial eyelashes, bags, clothing, and other products. These items, falsely labeled as Chinese-made, were then exported worldwide.
According to China’s General Administration of Customs, from January to August this year, North Korea exported wigs and eyelashes worth over $134 million to China. Analysts estimate that about 70% of the wigs exported by North Korea are produced through forced labor in these facilities.
The report estimates that female detainees, based on their working hours and production capacity, produce around 9,000 export-quality wigs annually. It further claims that North Korea has generated approximately $1.23 million from the forced labor of women in correctional facilities between 2016 and August this year.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
