A U.S. State Department report has listed North Korea as one of the worst human traffickers in the world.
And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted how the regime's citizens are subjected to forced labor overseas.
Hong Yoo reports. North Korea has been listed among the worst countries in the world for human trafficking for the 16th year in a row this year.
The regime was classified as a 'Tier 3' trafficker by the U.S. Department of State's 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report, which was announced by U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday.
North Korea has been classified as Tier 3, the worst of the three tiers on the report, ever since 2003.
The report evaluates North Korea as a country that does not make efforts to prevent human trafficking, and lacks even minimal regulations and standards to prevent it.
When announcing the report, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized other countries such as Libya, Myanmar, and Iran, but highlighted forced labor in North Korea.

"We see the tragic examples of forced labor in North Korea as well -- untold number of North Korean citizens are subjected to forced labor overseas by their own government - in many cases with the tacit approval of host governments."

But compared to last year's report, in which then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson criticized North Korea for forcing its citizens to work overseas and then using their wages to fund its nuclear weapons program, Pompeo played down the comment as the U.S. is in the midst of seeking an agreement with Pyongyang to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.