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North Korea is 'source country' for forced labor, sex trafficking, says report

Washington’s data corresponds to statistics that were released in South Korea earlier this year.

By Elizabeth Shim

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- A State Department report published on Monday said North Korea is a "Tier 3" country with respect to human trafficking – and that North Korean men, women and children are forced into slave labor and the sex trade.

North Korea has consistently ranked in the lowest third tier in the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report since 2003, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

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Tier 3 nations are countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards, and are not making significant efforts to do so, according to the State Department.

By contrast, Tier 1 nations fulfill the minimum requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

In its 2015 report, the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons said North Korea sends 50,000 or more forced laborers abroad.

Washington's data corresponds to statistics that were released in South Korea earlier this year.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry has stated 50,000 North Korean nationals are sent to work sites where they endure severe human rights violations and wage exploitation.

The report also stated Pyongyang holds between 80,000 and 120,000 North Koreans in prison camps and that "forced labor is part of an established system of political repression" in the country, according to South Korean news outlet CBS No Cut News.

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Other Tier 3 countries in the report include Russia, Syria and Iran.

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