Last month, a significant riot by North Korean workers in China over unpaid wages hinted at the emergence of a potential labor movement within North Korea, signaling a notable shift in the control North Korean authorities have over their citizens.
Tak Min Ji, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, offered this analysis in an online series titled “Implications of the Group Strike of North Korean Overseas Workers in Jilin Province, China: The Crisis of Slave Labor Abroad” published on the 20th. Tak highlighted the unique nature of the group strike in Jilin Province, emphasizing its distinctiveness from past acts of deviance and resistance within North Korean society and how the authorities have previously managed such incidents.
North Korean overseas workers dispatched to Jilin Province, China, are known to have occupied a factory and protested against unpaid wages last month. The number of workers who participated in the strike at the time is said to have reached about 2,000, and one manager who was held hostage was reportedly killed by assault. In response, the North Korean authorities selected about 200 people who led the riot, repatriated half of them, and promised to pay their overdue wages.
Tak pointed out that this organized protest marks a departure from past individual acts of rebellion by North Korean workers, such as bribery or seeking unauthorized employment. This mass action represents a significant shock to a society where the freedom to assemble and protest is heavily suppressed, potentially marking the beginning of a labor movement in North Korea.
Tak said, “This is an extremely shocking method in North Korean society where freedom of assembly and protest is suppressed,” and “it can be interpreted as the birth of a North Korean labor movement.”
He also noted the part where the workers directly demanded responsibility from the North Korean authorities. He analyzed, “They demanded rectification for the authorities violating their legitimate rights,” this is a “new trend of explicitly expressing dissatisfaction by establishing the concept of a state that violates our rights.”
The group strike by North Korean workers in China, which presents a significant challenge to the authority of the North Korean regime, was made possible by several key factors. These workers are “skilled workers” who play a crucial role in helping North Korea earn foreign currency. Additionally, with the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between North Korea and China this year, there’s an underlying “diplomatic consideration” where North Korea is cautious about provoking China.
Tak identified that this strike could be an “unusual case.” However, it could also be “one of the representative examples showing the major trend of the North Korean regime’s loss of control over its citizens.”
In particular, he said, “The overseas worker community could be the frontline where the weakening of the North Korean regime’s control becomes apparent in that overseas North Korean workers are in a place where the regime’s control reaches the latest and weakest due to physical distance, and in an environment where information spreads faster despite the control of the North Korean authorities.”
“The South Korean government needs to pay close attention to the possibility that the “desperation” of the North Korean authorities, who cannot give up the benefits of earning foreign currency through overseas workers despite international sanctions and criticism, could hand a knife to overseas workers in a situation similar to the Jilin Province incident,” suggested the researcher.
yeh25@news1.kr