NK Workers in Poland

[Anchor Lead]

In our next story, KBS has confirmed that roughly 100 North Korean women are working at a large Polish tomato farm in confinement. A KBS team brings you this interview with the North Korean women from the Eastern European country.

[Pkg]

This sprawling vegetable farm measures 480,000 square meters in area. It was reported to have hired North Korean women workers. The farm is surrounded by high walls, and outsider access is strictly controlled.

[Soundbite] "Aren't there Koreans here?"

[Soundbite] Security Guard(at Farm Employing N. Korean Women) : "I don't know anything about that. Don't ask me. I am just an employee. I cannot answer your questions."

After sunset, another visit was made to the tomato farm. On his way out after work, a Ukrainian worker said that more than 100 North Korean women are working at the farm.

[Soundbite] "How many North Korean women live here? Approximately how many? A hundred?"

[Soundbite] Ukrainian Worker(at Tomato Farm) : "That's right."

The next day, a KBS team visited a local supermarket where North Korean women reportedly purchase goods. North Korean women in their early 20s come into view among shoppers pushing carts.

[Soundbite] "How long have you been in Poland?"

[Soundbite] North Korean Woman Working (at Tomato Farm) : "I don't know why you're asking about it. I don't have time."

The women work up to 12 hours a day--over 70 hours a week in total--and live on the farm property. They are only allowed to leave once a week, when they shop for daily necessities. In response to a question about their working hours, they sigh and offer a baffling answer.

[Soundbite] North Korean Woman Working (at Tomato Farm) : "We work as long as we want to. That can be seven hours or five hours. We came here because we wanted to earn money."

The women receive only about 75 U.S. dollars a month for their hard work. That's just a seventh of the minimum wage for Polish workers.

[Soundbite] Prof. Remco Breuker(Leiden University, Netherlands) : "There is a lack of workers in Poland because Polish workers have moved to countries where they can earn more money. Labor costs for North Korean workers are very low, which is good for Polish companies."

With their passports seized, the North Korean women are working hard in a distant country far from their homes to earn foreign currency for Kim Jong-un's nuclear development and imports of luxury goods.