From North Korea to ICE: Photojournalist David Guttenfelder on the front lines in Minneapolis

North Korean workers continue to fill roles in Chinese factories, replacing those who returned home over the past few years. However, despite increased orders and longer hours, their pay remains flat and surveillance over them has intensified. At a garment factory in Liaoning province, roughly 300 North Koreans are employed, with a third of them returning home early this year.

Now, with new workers, the factory floor is bustling once again and night shifts have become common, with workers putting in 13-hour days. Their typical schedule includes breakfast at 6 a.m., morning and afternoon shifts of four and a half hours each, lunch at 12:30 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m., and a four-hour night shift at 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with work ending at 5 p.m. on non-night shift days.

Their contracted monthly wage is 3,200 to 3,500 Chinese yuan, but they only take home 600 to 700 yuan due to deductions for party funds, union dues, and a management fee. Night shifts are unpaid, and the only reward for grueling work is a meat dish at dinner. State security agents, called jeongbowon, now monitor workers more closely, with a ratio of one agent per 100 workers, and accompany them on outings outside the factory.