North Korea confiscates passports of officials sent abroad
North Korean workers dispatched abroad work in factories and on construction sites to earn foreign cash for the state. the bulk of their share is forwarded to the central government.
However, with companies earning less during the pandemic, many are under pressure to pay their assigned quota.
As a result, to prevent the possibility of fleeing to a third country, North Korea is retrieving both workers and officials’ passports stationed abroad. This action especially follows the escape of 20 workers and their manager from their dormitory in Shanghai earlier this year.
[Source: RFA]
