North Korean workers abroad have been a major controversy and a key target of international sanctions. Often, these individuals are working long hours in poor conditions and with low pay — many liken them to modern-day slave laborers.
But as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov and economic researcher Peter Ward point out in a new paper, it’s important to remember that conditions are far worse in North Korea. They argue that North Koreans volunteer for and seek out opportunities abroad and in fact have much more agency than is typically reported.
Lankov and Ward join the North Korea News Podcast to discuss the work conditions of North Korean laborers, human rights, embedded agency, workers rights and the future of North Korean labor exports
About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted exclusively by NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.