NKDB Publishes “Across Borders: Addressing Trafficking and Structural Vulnerabilities of North Korean Women”
05-10-2026
Last week, on September 29, 2026, the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) released Across Borders: Addressing Trafficking and Structural Vulnerabilities of North Korean Women, a report prepared with the advisory support of UpRights.
Drawing on firsthand accounts from North Korean migrant women who experienced trafficking, and on the laws and policies of North Korea, China and South Korea, the report examines the trafficking of North Korean women to and within the People’s Republic of China. The report also sheds light on how the categorisation of North Korean migrant women in China as “illegal economic migrants” rather than as refugees or victims of trafficking can leave them outside effective systems of legal protection and heighten their exposure to harm and exploitation. The report argues that trafficking cannot be understood solely through the lens of individual criminal acts as it is a structural human rights problem, sustained by the laws, policies, practices and conditions of the interacting States.
UpRights team contributed to the comprehensive legal analysis of States’ international obligations to prohibit and prevent trafficking in persons and to protect victims. Our analysis examined the international legal framework governing trafficking, including the Palermo Protocol, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, alongside relevant international human rights treaties and standards addressing trafficking and exploitation.
UpRights was glad to support NKDB’s team throughout this important work, particularly in centering the lived experiences and voices of North Korean women in examining the structural dimensions of trafficking. We hope this report will contribute to stronger protection and greater accountability for North Korean women affected by trafficking.
The full report is available on NKDB’s website: https://en.nkdb.org/researchreport/?idx=174843453&bmode=view
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