The nationwide work campaign to prepare for the Seventh Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which begins today, amounts to “forced labor” according to a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) on May 5.

The international NGO sent a letter to Kim Jong Un, urging the North Korean leader to address human rights abuses in North Korea and cooperate with the UN’s Human Rights Council.

“This ruling party congress is a rare event, but it’s made possible by the forced labor that untold thousands of North Koreans are subject to as part of everyday life under Kim (Jong Un’s)