Singapore revokes work permits of North Koreans

The Government has revoked the work permits of North Koreans in Singapore, according to a report it submitted to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The report, dated March 19, stated that Singapore had nullified the work passes of North Koreans earning an income in Singapore, and would not be granting new work permits.

“There are therefore no nationals of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with work passes in Singapore,” the report said. The move is in line with the enhanced sanctions in the UNSC Resolution 2397 (2017), which was adopted in response to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile test on November 29 last year.

Adopted by all member states in December last year, the resolution said that revenue generated by North Koreans overseas “contribute to the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes”.

The resolution also mandated that “member states repatriate all North Korean workers in their jurisdictions no later than 24 months from the date of adoption” of the resolution.

All member states were given 90 days to report on measures that would be taken by each jurisdiction to implement effectively the provisions of the resolution. Channel NewsAsia has approached the Ministry of Manpower for comments.

In November last year, Singapore announced that it was suspending commercial trade relations with North Korea, a provision also mentioned in its March 19 report.