Last month, a human rights investigator with the U.N. reported that as many as 50,000 people from North Korea had been sent to work abroad in countries such as Russia and China. The investigator claimed that the workers were subjected to conditions indicative of forced labor. An ambassador from North Korea made an announcement last week that these claims were untrue and none of these workers are mistreated. The investigator believes that these workers were sent abroad to earn foreign currency that amounted to between $1.2 and $2.3 billion each year. Next week, a U.N. committee will vote on resolution that could condemn labor exploitation in North Korea.
See "North Korea Says Laborers Work Abroad Legally, Not Mistreated", November 18, 2015