Kim Jong-un Has Amassed A Fortune Through The Forced Labor Of His Own Citizens
3- 17.09.2026, 13:02
- 1,226
Its operations extend far beyond the borders of North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has consolidated his position more than ever before during his time in power. North Korea is increasing its economic revenue, strengthening relations with Russia and China, and its nuclear capabilities continue to grow. However, behind this strengthening lies the brutal exploitation of its own citizens, writes The New York Times.
Moscow and Beijing are helping Pyongyang earn billions despite international sanctions. North Korea is supplying Russia with soldiers and ammunition for the war against Ukraine, receiving oil, food, and military technology in return.
At the same time, thousands of North Koreans are sent to work abroad. In Russia, they work 14 hours a day on construction sites, in factories, and at other enterprises. Many officially enter the country on student visas, but instead of studying, they live in shipping containers and meet financial quotas set by Pyongyang.
“We were nothing more than working cattle,” one former worker who fled from Russia to South Korea told The New York Times.
Exploitation begins even within North Korea itself. Prisoners in labor camps produce wigs and false eyelashes—one of the country’s main export goods. According to former prisoners, those who fail to meet their daily quotas are beaten and have their rations reduced.
North Korean authorities also profit from coal and iron ore mining, despite UN sanctions. Satellite imagery shows that Chinese companies continue to purchase North Korean coal.
IT specialists have become a separate source of income. Pyongyang sends them to China, Russia, and countries in the Middle East, where they earn money for the regime, including through cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft.
“On paper, North Korea is a country where everything is free. In reality, its system survives by squeezing resources out of its own people,” said former North Korean diplomat Ryu Hyun-woo.
“Behind Kim Jong Un’s economic successes lies a system in which the labor of ordinary North Koreans is turned into a source of revenue for the state and its military machine,” the NYT authors write.
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