Aju Business Daily

Nearly two dozen countries around the world host North Korean laborers that the communist regime is accused of forcing into harsh working conditions to earn hard currency for its nuclear and missile programs, a US State Department report showed.

The list of 23 countries, including China, Russia, Singapore and Thailand, was included in the department's recent report to Congress that details US strategy to promote initiatives to enhance international awareness of and address the human rights situation in the North.

Yonhap News Agency obtained the August 24-dated report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It was believed to be the most comprehensive list of countries hosting North Korean workers that the US government has ever put together. The list could put pressure on those countries to end such practices at a time when labor export has become an increasingly important source of hard currency for Pyongyang.

The 23 countries are Angola, Burma, Cambodia, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Laos, Poland, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

About 50,000-60,000 North Koreans are believed to be toiling overseas, mainly in the mining, logging, textile and construction industries. The average wage was stated as $120 to $150 per month, but in most cases employing firms paid salaries directly to the North's government.

The North reportedly receives more than $100 million from this system per year.

They are also reportedly forced to work usually between 12 and 16 hours, and sometimes up to 20 hours, per day, with only one or two rest days per month. Health and safety measures are often inadequate, and workers are given insufficient food.

The report is the latest in a series of measures by Washington to increase pressure on Pyongyang over its human rights record. In July, the U.S. imposed its first-ever sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his role in the country's human rights violations.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is one of the world's most repressive countries," the State Department said in the latest report. "The government seeks to dominate all aspects of its citizens' lives, and it restricts the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression, religion, peaceful assembly, association and movement."

(Yonhap)