About 2,000 North Korean workers dispatched to China’s Jilin Province started a riot in mid-January triggered by anger over unpaid wages, a North Korean source told The Yomiuri Shimbun.
According to the source, the first large-scale demonstration by North Korean workers also highlights the rebellious spirit of the country’s young, who are not content to live in slave-like conditions.
The riot occurred at a clothing manufacturing and seafood processing factory in Helong, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, within the province.
The North Korean workers were dispatched by a company under Pyongyang’s defense ministry to earn foreign currency.
Angered at long-term unpaid wages, the workers on Jan. 11 occupied the factory and took hostage North Korean personnel dispatched to manage and monitor the employees.
North Korean authorities temporarily placated the workers by paying them their unpaid wages, while identifying about 200 people who played a leading role in the riot and repatriating half of them.
According to the source, the incident was reported to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and government heads are in shock. »
