Goal 8

"Promote sustained inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all"

Amid the 5.7% global unemployment rate, half of the world's population still lives on about $2 a day, and getting a job does not guarantee getting out of poverty. This slow and uneven growth requires us to reconsider and readjust economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty.

The global average annual GDP growth rate per capita has increased year-on-year, but growth is still slow in developing countries, and many countries are moving away from their 7% growth target by 2030. In addition, wages have fallen due to falling labor productivity and rising unemployment rates, and our living standards are also falling.

Sustainable economic growth requires a society that can have quality jobs that support the economy without harming the environment. Job opportunities and quality working conditions for the entire working-age population are also needed. Access to financial services should also be strengthened for income management, savings, and productive investment. Investment in trade, banking, and agricultural infrastructure must also be accompanied to increase productivity and lower unemployment in poor areas around the world.

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North Korea’s state media has reported on the efforts to achieve higher levels of economic productivity highlighting exchanges and training conducted by factory workers, technicians and labourers.

Media has proudly reported on the “80-day battles” in which citizens work to increase production in farming, mining, and factories, stating that factories have achieved more than “120% in production performance.”

When it comes to achieving full and productive employment for all, the DPRK government in particular reported on its efforts to expand its employment for persons with disabilities in its National Report submitted to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2019 stating that “institutions, enterprises and organizations are under legal obligation to provide sufficient working conditions to persons with disabilities, and strictly prohibit persons with disabilities from working in case conditions for the labour safety and protection are not provided.”

Additionally, the DPRK government reported that recently a series of measures were taken to achieve full realisation of women’s right to work by “designating [a] new category of occupations suitable for them or expanding the scope of expanding occupations.” These measures indicated “a number of institutions, enterprises and organizations were newly established, creating conditions for women to take jobs suited to their abilities and work to the best of their skills. The number of factories in the field of light industry such as foodstuff, hosiery and cosmetics factories, institutions in health sector such as dental hospitals, paediatric hospitals and rehabilitation centres and schools like junior and senior secondary schools increased in number, requiring female workforce. On the other hand, the existing factories and enterprises modernized their production processes, enabling women to take jobs once done by men. A lot of enterprises and cooperatives organized production units accessible to women such as daily necessaries work teams and workshops.”

aThough the DPRK claimed in its report to the Convention on the Rights of the Child that child labour was abolished by law 70 years ago. Moreover, in its 2021 VNR report, the government strongly asserted that “the SDG targets 8.5 and 8.6 to provide all women and men with stable and decent jobs, education and/or training have already been achieved long time ago.” It further stated as “the SDG target 8.7 had already been achieved since the youth unemployment, forced labour and child labour which are common problems in the world do not exist in the DPRK.”

The DPRK also regularly reports on the mobilisation of youth for state projects such as the coal industry and to prepare damaged sites. Moreover, the DPRK has vowed to create safe and secure working environments in which people work 8 hours and receive daily necessities through the public distribution system.

The DPRK’s state media often reports on the country’s tourism industry in which local culture and products are promoted such as the Chosun Mount Baektu Tour Event in Yanggang Province and the Yangdok Hot Spring Resort.

[Interview by NKDB in 2015 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

[Interview by NKDB in 2017 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

[Interview by NKDB in 2017 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

[Interview by NKDB in 2017 (NKDB Unified Human Rights Database)]

According to the Bank of Korea’s statistics, North Korea’s economy has grown since Kim Jong Un took power with the biggest economic growth being driven by the service sector. However, it is difficult to see the real growth of the economy as it does not reflect the impact of marketization which has expanded extensively over the past decade, based on the report provided by Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).The 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry noted that, by 2008, informal economic activities accounted for 78 per cent of the total income of households. In its report released in 2019, the OHCHR highlighted that despite the large role that the informal sector plays in boosting North Korea’s economy, people are exposed to prosecution and corruption when they engage in rudimentary market activity.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index estimated that there were more than 2.6 million people living in modern slavery conditions in the DPRK, with one in ten people subjectto forced labour. In theory, the DPRK is externally still a socialist state in which the Supreme Leader and the State provide for its people, but the reality shows a marketized system where not only the people have to support themselves but are also expected to fund the regime. According to the stagnant system which North Koreans are bound by, North Korea still insists on total employment in which all officially recognised employment is centrally organised. Though the government states that all work earns an income, in reality, most North Koreans are not paid for their work other than through food rations, which were also not given regularly. With the collapse of the public distribution system during the Arduous March, most workplaces only exist but have no production, as a result, few North Koreans are able to depend on the state to sustain their lives. As the majority of companies fail to provide compensation for labour services provided by workers, many North Korean people have turned to other means of sustaining themselves. In order to be able to do these ‘illegal economic activities’ North Koreans register as ‘8/3 workers,’ in which they must pay a steep monthly fee to be registered at a workplace to avoid punishment. According to the NKDB’s report, if citizens do not pay to be registered and do not attend their workplace for more than fifteen days, then they are faced with punishments- the most common punishment for being unemployed or failing to attend work is being sent to a labour training camp.

The lack of freedom to choose to work and where to work, i.e. this form of modern slavery is not only seen in official work places but also emerges in ‘mobilisations’ in which both children and adults must partake in unpaid communal labour in agriculture, road building and construction. Labour mobilisations are often called ‘battles’ in which citizens are sent to work for 70 to 100 days without a day off.

There are 230 cases of violations of labour rights relating to inferior working environments in the NKDB Unified Human Rights Database and an additional 252 cases of deaths due to inferior working environments. The causes of these cases are mainly workers’ negligence or a poor working environment. NKDB’s research has found that poor working conditions include problems with lighting, temperature, noise level, ventilation, and poisonous by-products that affect workers’ capacity and safety.

33, Changgyeonggung-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 

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