Czechs to end controversial North Korean labour contracts

The Czech authorities have decided to end the controversial practice of North Koreans working in factories across the country as breadwinners for their authoritarian regime. Tomas Haisman, an interior ministry official responsible for Czech asylum and migration policy, told the AFP news agency that the ministry would not be offering new work permits to North Korean citizens and did not intend to prolong existing ones. Around 400 North Koreans are currently working in the country, mostly as seamstresses. They are kept on a tight leash by government agents and allowed to keep only part of their wages.