Often working in hard labour fields such as construction, logging, textile production, or mining, migrant workers' conditions have been frequently described by human rights activists as a modern-day form of slavery.

[2] With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, most migrant labourers were left stranded in their home countries as a result of stringent anti-pandemic protocols instituted by the North Korean government.

[6] Aidan McQuade, director of human rights group Anti-Slavery International, further said that descriptions of working conditions indicate "state-sponsored trafficking for forced labour".

According to the pro-government BelNovosti portal, North Korean migrant labourers have participated in construction or reconstruction of several buildings in Belarusian capital of Minsk, such as the Independence Palace, the Belarus Hotel [be].

[8] A high-level agreement between the North Korean and Belarusian governments in 2014 established greater opportunities for migrant labourers to work in Belarus.

[14] In response to increased pressure from the United Nations, Mongolia began refusing to renew visas for workers in 2017, vowing to send the remainder home by the end of 2018.

[16] North Korean migrant labour in Poland has been a source of continued controversy, and a small group of workers remained in the country by mid-2017, despite several attempts to repatriate them.

[19] As of 2019 an estimated 400 North Koreans are working in the self-proclaimed state of Abkhazia, which is internationally recognised as a part of Georgia under Russian military occupation.