China reportedly agreed with North Korea last month to accept 120-thousand North Korean workers to its Dandong, Tumen and Hunchun regions located along their shared border.

A South Korean expert on North Korean issues said that in the first phase of the project, China will invite some 20-thousand North Korean workers to its IT industries. In the following phases, North Korean workers will be invited to the manufacturing and service sectors, expanding the number of the workers to 120-thousand in phases.

The expert also said the workers will be paid around 100 to 150 U.S. dollars per month to work in China, and that Beijing has agreed to extend their visas from the current three-month limit to up to a year.

He said the arrangement is a mutually beneficial one as China can satisfy its need for cheap but quality labor, while Pyongyang can reap in foreign capital by deploying workers overseas.