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. Many former female soldiers in their 20s also participated in the riot, the source added.
The riot occurred at a clothing manufacturing and seafood processing factory in Helong, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, within the province. The factory is located in a development zone filled with factories and is near the Tumen River that flows along the China-North Korea border. (…)