By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea has been mobilizing an army of slave workers for state-run construction projects nationwide, a report showed Wednesday.
The finding adds to a series of revelations on North Koreans who are forcibly sent abroad to earn hard currency in order to prop up the cash-strapped regime.
The 81-page report, titled "Sweatshop, North Korea," was based on testimony from 18 North Korean defectors in South Korea, including four former workers for the construction projects.
An estimated number of 200,000 to 400,000 construction workers toil more than eight hours a day under extreme conditions for 10 years although they receive hardly any wages.
Many of them, both men and women, are physically weak and came from lower-class families. They were forcibly taken to toil when they were in their senior years at middle school.
Calling them "storm troopers," the report said their life resembles that of the military. It claimed that they live in groups in different regions and are asked to follow orders.
"This is one of the odd systems of exploiting labor," it said. "It can be called a modern caste system."
A former "storm trooper" in South Korea testified that the workers had to stay up from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. to build railways, roads, power plants, apartments and others
"We often stayed up through midnight during the times of speedy battle," he said, referring to period when the tyrannical state rushed them to finish construction projects in preparation for important events, such as the seventh congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May.
The workers were starved all the time because they were given poor meals despite their long working hours and that their monthly salary was too low to buy nutritious meals.
The workers usually worked in a group of 10 and the women were also forced to fulfill physically-demanding jobs as much as men.
"Everyone was given an equal amount of work regardless of their gender. Beatings and safety hazards were commonly seen," a defector said.
Meanwhile, the report said over half of the 10 million soldiers at the North Korean Army have been mobilized for the government-run construction projects in addition to the slave workers to meet the deadline.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pushing for a wide range of projects since he took power in December, such as apartment complexes for nuclear scientists and engineers.
"The interviewees said they spent about six years on construction-related duties during their 10-year military service," the report said. "The mandatory military service is not considered as forced labor as defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), but mobilization of the soldiers for construction exclusively is seen as a violation of the ILO regulations."
The dictatorial regime has been pocketing cash from employees at other workplaces in return for ensuring their positions there, according to the report.
Housewives and students are tasked with turning in cash, collecting waste paper or other goods that can be exchanged for money.
It is estimated that North Korean authorities have been pocketing cash worth $975 million from the households across the country.
"The international community should pay attention to enslavement of North Koreans at both home and abroad and take measures accordingly," the report said.
North Korea has been mobilizing an army of slave workers for state-run construction projects nationwide, a report showed Wednesday.
The finding adds to a series of revelations on North Koreans who are forcibly sent abroad to earn hard currency in order to prop up the cash-strapped regime.
The 81-page report, titled "Sweatshop, North Korea," was based on testimony from 18 North Korean defectors in South Korea, including four former workers for the construction projects.
An estimated number of 200,000 to 400,000 construction workers toil more than eight hours a day under extreme conditions for 10 years although they receive hardly any wages.
Many of them, both men and women, are physically weak and came from lower-class families. They were forcibly taken to toil when they were in their senior years at middle school.
Calling them "storm troopers," the report said their life resembles that of the military. It claimed that they live in groups in different regions and are asked to follow orders.
"This is one of the odd systems of exploiting labor," it said. "It can be called a modern caste system."
A former "storm trooper" in South Korea testified that the workers had to stay up from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. to build railways, roads, power plants, apartments and others
"We often stayed up through midnight during the times of speedy battle," he said, referring to period when the tyrannical state rushed them to finish construction projects in preparation for important events, such as the seventh congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May.
The workers were starved all the time because they were given poor meals despite their long working hours and that their monthly salary was too low to buy nutritious meals.
The workers usually worked in a group of 10 and the women were also forced to fulfill physically-demanding jobs as much as men.
"Everyone was given an equal amount of work regardless of their gender. Beatings and safety hazards were commonly seen," a defector said.
Meanwhile, the report said over half of the 10 million soldiers at the North Korean Army have been mobilized for the government-run construction projects in addition to the slave workers to meet the deadline.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been pushing for a wide range of projects since he took power in December, such as apartment complexes for nuclear scientists and engineers.
"The interviewees said they spent about six years on construction-related duties during their 10-year military service," the report said. "The mandatory military service is not considered as forced labor as defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), but mobilization of the soldiers for construction exclusively is seen as a violation of the ILO regulations."
The dictatorial regime has been pocketing cash from employees at other workplaces in return for ensuring their positions there, according to the report.
Housewives and students are tasked with turning in cash, collecting waste paper or other goods that can be exchanged for money.
It is estimated that North Korean authorities have been pocketing cash worth $975 million from the households across the country.
"The international community should pay attention to enslavement of North Koreans at both home and abroad and take measures accordingly," the report said.
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