North Koreans were subject to "collective forced labor" at the Kaesong industrial park, a defector who formerly managed funds for the leadership recently said, urging the South to pay wages directly to workers if the two Koreas restart it.
South Korean President Moon Jae In has expressed willingness to resume the suspended joint economic project, a major symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation, because the North has recently pledged to achieve denuclearization.
But Ri Jong Ho, 61, a former senior official of Office 39 of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said if the park reopens without reforming the wage system, the human rights of North Koreans will be infringed again.