North Korea appears to be pulling out all
the stops to secure funds for the May Party Congress, requesting a Chinese
company hiring its workers to prepay salaries and encouraging longer working
hours. This comes as Pyongyang faces a reduction in cash from its restaurants
overseas following international sanctions and a recent group defection of
workers to the South.
“After receiving strong demands from the
North, a Chinese fisheries company [name redacted to protect the source] in
Dandong, which employs about 200 North Korean workers, wired six months’ worth
of their wages to Pyongyang,” a source with knowledge of North Korean affairs
in China said, asserting that the move was to help the regime secure more money
for the upcoming Party Congress.
The Chinese firm usually sends most of the
500 USD allotted for each worker’s wages to Pyongyang, and the remaining 150
USD is handed over to the North Korean manager to distribute to the employees.
However, recently, even the smaller proportion of those wages is not being
reliably received. “Because of that I’m hearing more of the female workers say
they would prefer to return to the North than stay in China,” the source said.
These female employees not only have long
working hours but normally only get two days off per month and are rarely
allowed to take leave, even if they are ill.
The North Korean authorities have also
expressly permitted this Chinese company to extend working hours from 12 to 13
in order to make more money off their workers. Facing reduced funds from its
previously lucrative restaurant operations, the North appears to be turning to
its other workers abroad to make up for the shortage.
“The company recently signed a contract
with Japan, so it has extended its hours to 13 in order to get the packaging
done on time, and the North has given its tacit consent,” the source said. “The
extra wages for this were handed over to the North Korean manager, but the
workers didn’t see any of it.”
An additional source familiar with the
situation in Dandong explained that many of the workers are unhappy with the
strict schedule that requires them to work from 5am to 6pm without proper rest.
The employees operate in units of ten members each, all living together in a
single room. Getting leave to exit the compound, leave work early, or receive
treatment if they’re sick is “unthinkable,” as the chances of receiving
permission from their manager is remote, said the source.
Workers are usually hand picked from
Pyongyang and other major cities on contracts with Chinese companies.
Initially, hope abounds as they think good money can be earned, but they
eventually become resentful of the leadership, as their wages are low compared
to the labor required, and they face strict regulations in every facet of their
daily lives, the second source stated.
“The company doesn’t even allow the workers
to talk freely as they work, saying the goods need to be packaged with the
utmost quality for exports,” said the source. “The North Korean authorities are
aware of this, but rather than supporting its workers, it simply seeks to appease
the demands of the Chinese firm.”
The prepaid wages have now added more
strain on the workers. Having already been paid for full working hours, the
North Korean manager is forcing employees to work even if they are sick. “Some
have fallen so ill that they have asked to be sent back home, but they’ve been
turned down with no room for consideration,” the source lamented.
