Primarily focused in China and Russia, tens of thousands of North Koreans are forced to work as much as 20 hours a day, while up to 2.3 billion dollars a year in wages are collected by their government.

主要輸出至中國與俄羅斯，數萬民北韓人民被迫每天工作最多 20 小時，為政府每年賺進了 23 億美元的進帳。

But slavery isn’t the only criminal activity from which North Korea sees profit.

然而奴隸輸出並不是北韓唯一用以獲利的犯罪活動。

So we wanted to know, how exactly does North Korea make money?

於是我們便想知道，北韓到底是怎麼賺錢的？

Well, North Korea’s economy has always seen abysmal growth.

北韓經濟的成長狀況一向都乏善可陳。

According to UN statistics, both North and South Korea started out with a similar GDP in 1970: around $300 dollars per capita.

根據聯合國的數據，南北韓的 GDP 在 1970 年時是差不多的：人均 GDP 約 300 美元。

By 2013, South Korea’s GDP had grown by nearly than 9,000%. Meanwhile, North Korea’s GDP only doubled over those 4 decades.

到了 2013 年，南韓的 GDP 成長到了接近當年的 9,000%。於此同時，北韓的 GDP 在這四十年過去後僅翻了一倍。

But most financial figures surrounding their economy are unknown, as North Korea has one of the most closed economic systems in the world.

然而該國經濟的各項詳細數據並不為外人所知，因為北韓是全世界最封閉的經濟體系之一。

This is the result of a cultural philosophy known as "juche", or "self-reliance".

這是因為名為「주체」，或是「主體」思想的文化哲學的結果。

The enclosed system is one of the ways that North Korea is able to farm out its citizens in what is effectively slavery.

這個封閉的體系是北韓之所以能夠將人民當作奴隸輸出至其他國家的方法之一。

While some workers do see payment from their government, it is in the form of nearly worthless local currency, the won, at a massively inflated exchange rate.

雖然某些勞工確實能從政府手中收到酬勞，但通常都是以幾乎等於廢紙的當地貨幣：朝鮮圓來支付，並且有著嚴重膨脹的匯率。

In North Korea’s black markets, a single US dollar can buy more than 8,000 won, while the government offers an exchange of just 105 won.

在北韓的黑市中，一美元可以兌換超過 8000 朝鮮圓，而依官方開出的匯率則僅能兌換 105 朝鮮圓。

But besides collecting for slave labor, North Korea also trades in other internationally prohibited activities.

除了藉由奴隸勞動來賺錢以外，北韓也涉足了其他在國際社會上被禁止的活動。

One North Korean defector reported that the country has allocated major agricultural zones for growing opium.

一名脫北者表示北韓政府將大片的農業區規劃為罌粟種植區。

They have also become well known for producing mass quantities of methamphetamines, the majority of which go to China.

國際社會也逐漸發現他們正在生產大量的冰毒，而這些毒品大部分都輸出到了中國。

A 2008 congressional report found that the increasing drug trade over North Korean borders was strongly linked to government sources.

一份 2008 年美國國會報告中發現在北韓邊境逐漸增長的毒品交易量，與北韓政府有緊密的關聯。

However, later congressional reports disputed this link, pointing to private North Korean drug traffickers as the source instead.

然而，後來的其他國會報告則質疑了這樣的關聯，並表示這個現象應該與北韓的私人毒品走私販較為有關。

North Korea is also a hotbed of counterfeiting.

北韓也是製造偽鈔的溫床。

The US has accused their government of producing at least $45 million dollars in very high quality $100 dollar bills, which are known as "supernotes".

美國指控北韓政府生產了至少價值 4500 萬美元，被稱為「超級假鈔」的極高品質一百美元面值假鈔。

This counterfeiting operation is thought to net up to $25 million dollars a year in profit.

這樣的偽鈔行為被認為每年至少能帶來最多 2500 萬美元的淨利潤。

But perhaps the biggest benefactor of North Korea’s economy is actually China.

但受益於北韓經濟最多的，或許其實是中國。

While North Korea has almost no money, they have considerable natural resources.

雖然北韓幾乎沒有什麼財富，但卻有相當多的自然資源。

North Korea imported nearly twice as much as they exported with China.

北韓從中國進口的貨物量幾乎是出口量的兩倍。

But this trade imbalance is actually beneficial to China, because it comes with mining contracts for North Korean coal and zinc.

然而這樣在貿易上的不平衡實際上對中國是有利的，因為中國能藉此獲取到開採北韓煤礦與鋅礦的合約。

China is also one of the only countries to support North Korea with food, weapons, and energy, in the face of international sanctions.

中國也是在北韓面對國際制裁的當下，以食物、武器與能源援助北韓的極少數國家之一。

North Korea’s dishonest economic dealings may explain how they’ve avoided collapse while sanctioned around the world.

北韓不誠實的經濟生意或許能解釋他們是如何在面對全球制裁的同時，避免自身政府垮台的。

As long as they continue an alliance with China and Russia to keep their limited trade afloat, North Korea will keep exporting drugs, counterfeit bills, and slave labor.

只要他們仍能與中國與俄國保持聯盟關係並藉此來維繫他們有限的貿易量，北韓便能繼續輸出毒品、偽鈔與奴隸勞工。

North Korea’s outsourcing of slave labor is particularly disconcerting.

北韓輸出奴隸勞工的行為格外令人不安。

Check out this Seeker Daily video up top to learn more about why they started this practice.

觀看上面這部 Seeker 每日新聞影片來了解他們之所以開始這樣做的原因。

Or, if you want to know how their secretive government actually works, check out our video down below.

或者如果你想要了解他們的秘密政府體系是如何運作的，那就觀看下面這部影片吧。

Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to like and subscribe, so you get new videos every day.

感謝觀看！別忘記按讚和訂閱，讓你每天都能看到新的影片。