North Korean laborers outsourced by the North Korean government to factories in the Chinese city of Hunchun help manufacture wood flooring that could be exported to the United States, according to report from the Associated Press.
North Korean laborers outsourced by the North Korean government to factories in the Chinese city of Hunchun help manufacture wood flooring that could be exported to the United States, according to report from the Associated Press.
The North Korean government, while facing sanctions on many exports, outsources tens of thousands of workers worldwide, the article says. The revenue they send back to North Korea is estimated at $200–$500 million in revenue a year, the AP reported, adding that the revenue could account for a portion of the country’s nuclear weapons and missiles program.
President Donald Trump signed a law in August that made it a federal crime to import products made by North Korean workers anywhere in the world.
The AP’s report focuses on seafood products but said it discovered North Korean workers making wood flooring in Hunchun. While wood flooring is shipped from Hunchun to the U.S., the AP did not track any shipments in its investigation.