A Japanese daily says that areas in northeastern China have decided to employ North Korean workers.

The Yomiuri Shimbun says China's Jilin Province will hire 100 North Koreans this month to work at a plastic manufacturing plant in Tumen City. The report says their wages will be less than half of what Chinese workers are paid.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun says China's introduction of North Korean labor is picking up speed. It says that nearby Dandong City in Liaoning Province has also begun the process of bringing in one-thousand North Korean workers.

The dailies suggested that the decision to employ North Korean workers may be tied to Kim Jong-il’s visit to China's northeastern region in August.