OVER 2,500 NORTH KOREANS FORCED TO WORK ABROAD

SEOUL: Over 2,500 North Koreans have been sent to Poland and Mongolia to work under harsh conditions. Some 1,800 were forced to work in Mongolia’s construction sector or in sewing factories, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights. Eight hundred others were sent to Poland to do ship-building and construction, the rights group said. It said they work for less than US$100 (RM430) monthly and 90% of it is sent back to North Korea as “hard currency to avert economic hardship”. – dpa