N. Korea slams US human trafficking report as grave provocation

North Korea condemned a U.S. State Department report in Pyongyang on Saturday as a politically motivated provocation hostile to the DPRK. The 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report placed North Korea in Tier 3, the lowest category, for the 24th consecutive year. The report cited trafficking in political prison camps and labor training centers, state-sponsored forced labor funding government operations, and harsh conditions for overseas workers.

The 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report was released by the U.S. State Department on Thursday local time.

North Korea was placed in Tier 3 alongside China, Russia, Iran and Cuba.

North Korea’s foreign ministry said the report politicized and weaponized human rights to pursue a hostile policy toward the DPRK.

The report said North Korea imposed forced labor as part of an established system of political repression and used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government operations.

The report said many North Koreans working overseas faced excessive working hours, sometimes hazardous conditions, and lacked access to their passports.

Published Oct 10, 2026 10:16 am KST

The North Korea flag is seen during a medal ceremony at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korea on Saturday slammed a U.S. government report on its human trafficking situation as a "grave politically-motivated provocation" revealing Washington's "hostile" policy toward Pyongyang.

The U.S. State Department released the 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report on Thursday (local time), placing North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 group of countries for anti-human trafficking efforts, alongside China, Russia, Iran and Cuba.

It was the 24th consecutive year Pyongyang was placed in the category.

"Recently the U.S. Department of State committed another grave politically-motivated provocation of malignantly slandering the DPRK through the '2026 Trafficking in Persons Report' which is full of lies, fabrications, prejudice and hostility," a spokesperson for North Korea's foreign ministry said in an English statement carried by the country's Korean Central News Agency.

"This clearly proved once again the U.S. vicious and malicious intention to politicize and weaponize human rights and use them as the primary lever for its hostile policy toward the DPRK."

DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The spokesperson said the foreign ministry brands the report as an "intensive expression of the hostile policy encroaching upon the sovereignty and internal affairs of our state and hurting the rights and interests of our citizens, and denounces and rejects it in the strongest terms."

The spokesperson went further to claim such U.S. human rights reports were "false documents" meant to justify interference in the internal affairs of other countries and overthrow their social systems, including North Korea's.

"The U.S. 'human rights' racket against the DPRK, which poses a serious threat to the DPRK's sovereign rights and the rights and interests of its citizens, will be the first target of the toughest counteraction against the U.S. together with other hostile acts," the spokesperson said.

In the report, the State Department said North Korea had "a government policy or pattern of human trafficking in political prison camps and 'labor training centers' as part of an established system of political repression."

It said the North used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government operations and that many North Koreans working overseas were subjected to excessive working hours, sometimes in hazardous conditions, and without access to their passports.

朝鲜周六在平壤谴责美国国务院发布的一份报告，称其为出于政治动机、针对朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的挑衅行为。这份2026年《人口贩运报告》连续第24年将朝鲜列为第三级，即最低级别。报告指出，朝鲜存在政治犯集中营和劳教所人口贩运、国家资助的强迫劳动为政府运作提供资金以及海外劳工待遇恶劣等问题。

美国国务院于当地时间周四发布了《2026年人口贩运报告》。

朝鲜与中国、俄罗斯、伊朗和古巴一起被列为第三梯队。

朝鲜外交部表示，该报告将人权政治化、武器化，以推行对朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的敌对政策。

报告称，朝鲜实行强迫劳动，这是其既定的政治镇压体系的一部分，并将国家资助的强迫劳动所得用于资助政府运作。

报告称，许多在海外工作的朝鲜人面临工作时间过长、有时工作环境危险以及无法取回护照等问题。

发布于2026年10月10日上午10:16（韩国标准时间）

在日本举行的2026年爱知-名古屋亚运会颁奖仪式上，出现了朝鲜国旗。（路透社-韩联社）

朝鲜周六抨击美国政府关于其人口贩运情况的报告，称其为“出于政治动机的严重挑衅”，暴露了华盛顿对平壤的“敌对”政策。

美国国务院于周四（当地时间）发布了 2026 年人口贩运报告，将朝鲜列为打击人口贩运工作最差的第三级国家，与中国、俄罗斯、伊朗和古巴并列。

这是平壤连续第24年被列入该类别。

朝鲜外交部发言人通过朝鲜中央通讯社发表英文声明称：“近日，美国国务院出于政治动机，通过充斥谎言、捏造、偏见和敌意的《2026年人口贩运报告》恶意诽谤朝鲜，这是又一次严重的挑衅行为。”

“这再次清楚地证明了美国将人权政治化、武器化，并将其作为对朝敌对政策的主要手段的恶意和卑劣意图。”

DPRK是朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的简称。

发言人表示，外交部将该报告定性为“侵犯我国主权和内政、损害我国公民权利和利益的敌对政策的强烈表现，并对此予以最强烈的谴责和驳斥”。

该发言人进一步声称，此类美国人权报告是“虚假文件”，旨在为干涉他国内政和推翻其社会制度（包括朝鲜的社会制度）辩护。

发言人表示：“美国针对朝鲜的‘人权’闹剧严重威胁朝鲜的主权权利及其公民的权利和利益，将与其他敌对行为一起，成为对美国最严厉反制措施的首要目标。”

美国国务院在报告中表示，朝鲜“在政治监狱营和‘劳动培训中心’实行人口贩运的政府政策或模式，这是其既定的政治镇压体系的一部分”。

报告称，朝鲜利用国家资助的强迫劳动所得来资助政府运作，许多在海外工作的朝鲜人被迫长时间工作，有时在危险的条件下工作，并且无法使用自己的护照。