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Date : September 30, 2021
HRW: NK Controls Youth Through Hard Labor
   https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/02/north-korea-controls-youth-through [835]

North Korea Controls Youth Through Hard Labor

by Lina Yoon, Senior Researcher, Asia Division

North Koreas economy has taken a hit as the countrys borders remain sealed during the Covid-19 pandemic. This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed appreciation to the countrys youth for volunteering to do hard labor to compensate for lagging behind or to cleanse cultural infiltration.  

The North Korean governments use of hard labor justified by ideological demands is common. The demanded labor is used for projects that Kim Jong Un has deemed a priority, such as mining, farming, and construction. This allows North Korea to boost domestic production – even more relevant now that cross-border trade has almost stopped – while sending specific political messages to the people.

The new messaging follows Kim Jong Uns order in April 2021 to crack down on words, acts, hairstyle, and attire of young people that the government considers unsavory, individualistic, and anti-socialist. Young people were directed to stop watching, reading, or listening to unsanctioned videos, broadcasts or texts; not mimic the speech, clothes, and hairstyles of South Korean television series characters; and re-embrace a life that shows loyalty to the North Korean leadership, carries on the socialist system, and follows the governments propaganda and orders.   

These so-called volunteer mobilizations of people to work in mines, farms, or construction sites involve backbreaking labor under extremely harsh and dangerous conditions for long periods of time with little or no pay. The North Korean government may say these are all volunteer projects, but the reality is very few people can turn down the request. Since punishment for crimes in North Korea is arbitrary, depending on a persons record of loyalty, personal connections, and capacity to pay bribes, refusal to work as a volunteer can result in severe punishment, including torture and long imprisonment.

The governments brutal practices violate fundamental principles of international labor law and human rights law. North Korea remains one of the very few countries that is not a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Kim Jong Un could better express his appreciation for the countrys youth by joining the ILO and ending rampant rights abuses.

[Source: HRW]






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