China demands North Korea retrieve workers as tensions rise

The Chinese government has repeatedly demanded that North Korean authorities take back all of their citizens working in China, according to findings by the South Korean agency Yonhap. This decision likely means a reduction in income for Kim Jong-un's regime.

While North Korean authorities wanted to gradually withdraw their citizens, Beijing demanded that Pyongyang take back all workers whose visas are expiring, Yonhap reported last month, citing an anonymous source. It noted that China is seen as the main "cash cow" for North Korea, which is struggling to obtain foreign currency due to international sanctions.

In 2017, the UN Security Council obligated all member states to send back North Korean workers by the end of 2019. This aims to cut off the regime's hard currency revenue. However, it is estimated that tens, and possibly even hundreds of thousands of North Korean workers remain in China and Russia.

“Sending workers abroad and smuggling coal and oil through ship-to-ship transfers are illegal activities that violate UN Security Council resolutions,” an anonymous South Korean foreign ministry official told Yonhap. “As a (non-permanent) member of the Security Council, our country calls on all UN member states to fully implement the UNSC resolutions,” they added.

According to Yonhap’s source, China, “the main ally and economic benefactor of North Korea,” has also tightened customs inspections on exports to North Korea and intensified actions against smuggling.

The Middle Kingdom could be trying to increase its influence on North Korea at a time when the country is strengthening military cooperation with Russia, the agency added, citing analysts.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian, asked for a comment by Yonhap, said that he "had not heard of the issue," adding that "China and North Korea are neighbors and have always maintained traditionally friendly and cooperative relations."