Miller's office produces the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report. In the 2005 report, North Korea was rated as a Tier 3 country, the
least favorable rating. Tier 3 is reserved for countries whose governments not
only fail to implement international standards but fail to make progress in
prosecuting rampant trafficking and engage in acts such as state-sanctioned use
of forced labor.
Between 80 percent and 90 percent of the refugees from North Korea, especially
women and young children, end up as trafficking victims in China, according to
Miller.
Women and children are particularly vulnerable to traffickers in China because
the Chinese government's policy of detaining the refugees and sending them back
to North Korea, where the penalty for returned refugees is often death, keeps
them from going to the authorities, he said.
"The largest category of trafficking victims end up in sexual slavery and
others are sold into domestic servitude in factories and farms," Miller said.
The ambassador noted that North Korean children between the ages of 11 and 17
were sold in Northern China for as little as $100.
He said there is evidence suggesting trafficking occurs not only within China's
borders but also from inside North Korea, where women are lured into selling
themselves for the prospect of a better life in China.
"We must address the demand side of this horrific trade," Miller said. "We
cannot ignore the demand and this requires tougher enforcement in destination
countries."
He cited recent anti-trafficking progress in Southeast Asia, such as the 2004
prosecution and conviction of a Cambodian national for trafficking under-age
women for a brothel in Malaysia. The investigation and prosecution were made
possible through the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking
in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (UNIAP).
UNIAP was established in 2000 to facilitate a stronger and more coordinated
response to human trafficking in the greater Mekong subregion; its enforcement
activity is concentrated in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
"This type of agreement needs to be made for Northeast Asia," Miller said.
The ambassador also urged China to change its laws to protect victims of
trafficking instead of returning them to North Korea, and to allow the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to operate along the border region with
North Korea.
Miller concluded his remarks with the story of a North Korean refugee, Ki
Young-cha, who escaped to China in 1997 with her two daughters and son. Human
traffickers sold them for domestic labor. Ki was arrested by Chinese police and
sent back to North Korea, while her two daughters were sold to Chinese men for
wives. Ki managed to flee from North Korea a second time and continued to work
in China until she raised enough money to buy back her children. Ki was
reunited with her family in 2004 and eventually defected to South Korea.
"Mrs. Ki's story personifies the plight of the millions of North Koreans,"
Miller said.
The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
