One in 10 North Koreans are modern-day slaves, according to a human rights report released on Thursday.
The rogue nuclear nation led by Kim Jong Un has the highest prevalence of state-imposed forced labour, according to the modern slavery index released by the Walk Free Foundation.
Researchers interviewed 50 defectors from North Korea on their experiences as part of the report. All but one described mandatory, unpaid “communal labour” for adults and children.
Pyongyang reportedly relies on large-scale forced labour to operate its mining industry, including through prison-camp labour.
The government also reportedly assigns low-class individuals to work in mines, in roles that are often passed down from generation to generation.
Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan were among the top 10 worst offenders in the foundation’s analysis, which estimates levels of forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery and slavery-like practices, and human trafficking.
Modern slavery estimates for the US, Australia, Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands were also higher than previously thought, but these countries were taking the most action to tackle slavery, the report noted.
The findings indicated two key drivers of modern slavery: “highly repressive regimes, in which people are put to work to prop up the government, and conflict situations which result in the breakdown of rule of law, social structures, and systems of protection.”
But the report also pointed the finger at G20 countries for sourcing an estimated 354 billion dollars’ worth of products at risk of being produced by forced labour each year.
Computers, mobile phones, fish and timber are among the highest-risk items.
The foundation urged countries to enforce sanctions passed by the UN Security Council, such as the ban on trading North Korean coal.
Despite the recent summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, the US and other UN Security Council countries have said sanctions must stay in place to keep up pressure on Pyongyang to denuclearize.
The UN special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, recently called for human rights to be included in any future talks.
The foundation compiled publicly available data and information from NGOs and academic institutions to estimate how widespread modern slavery is in 167 countries.
