Human trafficking in North Korea

Many factories shut down due to a lack of natural resources and an inability to pay laborers, forcing the government to drastically cut food rations.

[12] The ensuing famine exacerbated by "agricultural disasters" killed 2 million North Koreans[12] from 1996 to 1999[14], motivating families to migrate to the neighboring nation of China.

[11] China's one-child policy created the perfect environment for the trafficking of North Korean women, years of "sex-selective abortions" and female infanticide leading to a surplus of about 34 million males as of 2016.

Trafficked women and girls suffer a plethora of abuses, such as being forced to participate in sex, gang-rape, depraved cybersex performances, and hard labor (when sold to men in rural areas).

[11] China's legislation violates the United Nation's Refugee Convention by deeming trafficked women economic migrants, prompting the country to deport 6,000 Koreans annually.

[11] Upon deportation, North Korean defectors are charged with treason and face time in labor camps, where they are emotionally and sexually abused, tortured, and starved.

In these labor camps, repatriated pregnant women are subject to induced abortions and infanticide as a way to keep North Korean lineages pure and rid the government of responsibility from financially supporting "foreign-blooded children".

Reports indicate that political prisoners endure severe conditions, including little food or medical care, and brutal punishments; many are not expected to survive.

"[1] Credible reports state that they face threats of government reprisals against them or their relatives in North Korea if they attempt to escape or complain to outside parties.

[1] Tens of thousands of North Korean workers are estimated to be employed in Russian logging camps, where they reportedly have only two days of rest per year and face punishments when they fail to meet production targets.

[1] Since Kim Jong-un became leader of North Korea in 2011, the number of workers sent abroad has increased rapidly in order to obtain foreign currency and bypass international sanctions.

However, it was reported that North Korea had found ways of circumventing the sanctions and started using a loop hole that allowed tourist or student visas.

The government contributes to the problem of trafficking through its harsh restrictions on emigration and through its forced labor prison camps, where North Koreans live in conditions of servitude, receiving little food and little if any medical care.

On the contrary, victims undergo severe abuse by the regime if caught attempting to cross the border or if deported back to North Korea by the Chinese government.