VOA慢速英语2015 报道称朝鲜海外务工者薪水微薄

AS IT IS 2015-03-21 Report: North Korea Foreign Workers Receive Little Pay 报道称朝鲜海外务工者薪水微薄

A new report describes abuses suffered by North Koreans who are sent to work outside the country.

A South Korean human rights organization prepared the report. The group says North Koreans working overseas are often forced to live in prison-like conditions. It says the North Korean government takes 90 percent of the wages they earn. That brings billions of dollars to the North.

The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul says its report is based on statements from 20 North Korean defectors. Most were sent to work in nine countries. The 20 have refused to return to North Korea.

One defector described the experience of working in another country as “harsher than the life in prison camps in North Korea.”

Lee Sung-joo is a researcher with the center. She says workers often lack even the simplest living necessities.

She says the workers are living in shelters or containers where heating or cooling systems and water are not provided.

South Korea’s foreign ministry¹ estimates that North Korea has sent about 50,000 laborers³ to 40 countries. The laborers are often asked to do demanding physical labor². They may work up to 15 hours a day in factories, farms or construction sites.

The defectors said their wages were paid directly to the North Korean government. The workers would then receive only 10 percent of the amount they earned. The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights estimates this brings in more than $2 billion a year for the North Korean government.

Jung Jae-ho worked on the report. He says this money eases the effect of international sanctions imposed on North Korea. Foreign countries approved the measures to punish the North for its nuclear weapons program.

He says North Korea sends workers overseas to get money for the government. At the same time, it blocks change that the international community wants to see from the country. 

North Korea has denied past accusations⁴ of abusing workers. It has said these claims are part of an effort to overthrow⁵ the government. 

Life overseas could be difficult for North Korean laborers. But the defectors say the jobs were highly sought after. They also say the positions offered better wages than most could earn in North Korea, even after the government took its cut.

The rights group says North Korea employed government minders to watch the workers. The report says the laborers are not permitted to move about freely, nor permitted contact with the local population. It says the workers faced physical punishment or being forcibly returned to North Korea for violating internal rules or attempting to escape.

Cho Jung-hyun is a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. He says North Korea could be brought to court for slave labor through the International Labor Organization at the International Criminal Court.

He says although North Korea is not a member of the ILO, the issue may be raised if a country importing North Korean labors⁶ is a member.

The defectors named eight countries that use North Korean laborers. The eight are China, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Libya. The ninth country was identified as an unnamed country in Eastern Europe. 

The United Nations is currently considering a resolution to ask the International Criminal Court to investigate North Korea for crimes against humanity. However, the resolution would likely be vetoed by North Korea’s allies, China or Russia, if it is brought to a vote at the UN Security Council.

Words in This Story

defector - n. one who leaves a country, political party or organization and goes to a different one

impose - v. to cause (something, such as a tax, fine, rule, or punishment) to affect someone or something by using your authority

minders - n. a person whose job it is to look after someone, to follow someone

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句