EU nations STOP importing ‘extorted’ North Korean workers amid condemnation of Kim Jong-un
SEVERAL European nations have ceased importing workers from North Korea amid international condemnation of the rogue state’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Kim Jong-un's regime has been criticised for exploiting its overseas workers
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania have suspended imports of workers from North Korea after Pyongyang was criticised for extorting money earned by their citizens overseas, according to a recent report by a North Korean human rights advocacy group.
The North's labour exports is regarded as a major source of currency for the secretive state, which has vowed to continued to develop its nuclear weapons programme.
The hermit state is said to receive more than £78million (US$100million) from their overseas labour every year.
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The Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights (DCNKHR) said: ”Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania set a precedent by ceasing their labour imports after realising the conditions of North Korean overseas labourers.”
About 50,000-60,000 North Koreans are believed to be working overseas, mainly in the mining, logging, textile and construction industries, according to the Seoul-based advocacy group.
The DCNKHR report said: ”The suspension of receiving North Korean labourers by these three East European countries is an example where states have actively taken measures against the extortion of the labourers' remuneration.”
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The suspension of receiving North Korean labourers by these three East European countries is an example where states have actively taken measures against the extortion of the labourers' remuneration
The rogue state has repeatedly been criticised for its human rights abuse and modern slavery due to harsh working conditions and extortion of money.
A recent Amnesty International report found Kim Jong-un’s regime had created and maintained an entire infrastructure dedicated to political repression and social control.
North Korea reportedly spends more than 20 per cent of its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military despite millions of citizens suffering blackouts and a lack of adequate food.
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Arnold Fang, an Amnesty International East Asia researcher, said: “We know they spend possibly as much as 22 per cent of GDP on military spending. As you can imagine, with that high a proportion, a lot of other public expenses may be compromised.”
The latest human rights report was presented jointly by the DCNKHR and the Netherlands' Leiden University at a conference on North Korea's labour exports, held in The Hague earlier this month.