Factories in three northeastern Chinese provinces are trying to recruit as many North Korean laborers as possible to capitalize on cheap labor costs. South Korea’s Joongang Daily reported on January 26 that this trend runs against the international community’s efforts to impose sanctions on North Korea.

South Korean media reported that Chunwoo Textile, based in Dandong, Liaoning, lost more than 100 workers to Guangdong province and other higher paying regions. Salaries and benefits are much lower in Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. In Guangdong, average wages for factory workers are 5,313 Yuan, while workers earn 2,843 Yuan in Dandong.

“The local economy centers on heavy industry, and with a lack of quality jobs, many workers have left the province in recent years,” said Chunwoo Textile owner Kim Hyun-cheol, Thousands of workers leave northeastern China each year to find a better paying job in the south.

The labor shortage in the north led Kim to hire North Korean workers. “They have a relatively strong work ethic and demand cheap wages. The fact that they’re not entitled to health insurance is also an advantage for me as a manager.” Kim pays the factory’s North Korean workers about 2,000 Yuan per month.

Economic development has been slower in Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang than in other provinces. The economies in northern China are reliant on economic planning by the central government. The areas developed rapidly from 2003 to 2012, and then started to decline in 2013 as development and government investment began to bottleneck.

Northeast China’s economy is still based on its manufacturing industry. The region has a serious labor shortage and a need for cheap workers. An estimated 40,000 North Koreans are now working in Northeast China.

Pyongyang earns $140 to $170 million a year by exporting laborers to China’s three northeastern provinces. The regime only earns an average of $86 million per year from the 54,700 North Korean workers at the Joint Kaesong Industrial Complex, in which South Korean companies pay the DPRK government directly for labor. 

Source: inews.qq.com

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Dandong North Korean labor China North Korea North Korean labor