A new UN report details a widespread and brutal system of forced labor in North Korea, including military conscription, state-assigned jobs, and ‘Shock Brigades’ that often involve dangerous work with no pay, freedom, or basic rights. The report, based on interviews with escaped North Koreans, alleges that the system may even amount to the crime against humanity of enslavement.
The US Senate Finance Committee has expanded its investigation into BMW following allegations that the automaker imported vehicles with Chinese components potentially produced under forced labor conditions. Senator Ron Wyden has requested information from BMW on whether it has halted imports of parts suspected to be made by Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region. BMW has not yet commented on the inquiry, but it previously announced measures to stop importing affected products after an investigation uncovered the import of vehicles with banned components. The inquiry also involves other car manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen.
A Moorestown couple was convicted Wednesday of coercing two women who entered the country illegally to work for them by threatening to beat them and taking away their passports and visas. Bolaji Bolarinwa, 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, 67, were convicted of multiple counts of forced labor, alien harboring for financial gain, and document servitude.
