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Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

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Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#91
post #72

Real question; is there any kind of revolutionary force inside NK? It seems like there should be, but we never hear about it. Anybody know?

All indications are that North Korea is incredibly tightly controlled. I've never seen any report of any independent of the government organization or faction or movement within North Korea.

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#92

I wonder why we do not use some sort of labor as penalty for misdemeanor, instead of useless incarceration. You caused $XXX of damage and you have no funds to cover it, you should work for the state until you pay back the sum.

The United States does have forced labor, although not a whole lot that isn't under a pretense of a optional program. Notably at Angola ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/11/10/angola-pri... ) But even if you want more, what should the prision do if a prisioner refuses to participate in the forced labor? How do you force them. Violence and torture is the only ultimate way. That is what you are demanding.

Thank you for amplifying this.

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#93

There needs to be a law that, for any kind of Chinese seafood to be imported, foreign officials must be allowed to inspect the conditions. They already do it for food safety. When espionage laws make other monitoring impossible, there can be zero trust in these companies to do the right thing. Allow detailed, random inspections, or your imports are blocked and you make no money.

Just to be clear, as outlined in the article both US and UN require inspections and these plants are “certified”. Clearly the inspectors do jack all. On the other hand, I’m curious how these investigators get all these local managers to give them tours of these plants and be so open like that. Like if a stranger shows up at my work and asks for a tour (whether or not it’s media), I’m not just going to give them a tou…

> Like if a stranger shows up at my work and asks for a tour (whether or not it’s media), I’m not just going to give them a tour.

You would if you got paid in Monopoly money and they offered you USD

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#94
post #72

Real question; is there any kind of revolutionary force inside NK? It seems like there should be, but we never hear about it. Anybody know?

It would be basically impossible. There’s an internal security apparatus partially trained by the East German Stasi. Anyone and everyone could be an informant to the state. Surveillance is assumed and whole families are sent to camps when people are found to be at odds with the state. What little we know from defectors, East German archives, and satellite imagery is terrifying.

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#96

Government officials carefully select workers to send to China, screening them for their political loyalties to reduce the risk of defections. To qualify, a person must generally have a job at a North Korean company and a positive evaluation from a local Party official. “These checks start at the neighborhood,” Breuker said. Candidates who have family in China, or a relative who has already defected, can be disqualif…

> I don't think I"m ever gonna complain about my job in America again. At the same time, 2024-02-25T18:06:34, 13of40@hn: >> as a hiring manager, I'm not going to waste my time with a candidate whose resume shows them hopping companies every year or two. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39503133

[dead]

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#97

"Why we fight" Even with all the problems in the West, with all that's broken at the moment in our end-stage capitalist societies, never forget that the alternative, in almost all instances, is pure terror.

Late stage capitalism is still better than the late stage socialism in North Korea.

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#98
It's time for the US to end the sanctions on North Korea. The abuse workers face is a straight line result from the fact that virtually all aspects of their economy are under total embargo. North Korea is a nuclear state, and they will never go back to not being one. North Koreans have been working in China for decades and that won't change either because China is not going to let them become a failed state.

Re: Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program

#99

Great reporting. It's sad the state of affairs and I need to remind myself that those cheap seafood we get from the supermarket maybe coming from these labors.

It’s more expensive, but there is a lot of seafood that’s produced in the US. No guarantees of humane treatmenr, but I bet much better than East Asia.
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