[wizerdrobe]

Pure speculation, but there is a large North Korean methamphetamine trade. Allegedly, per escapees, many North Koreans use meth for purposes of work enhancing stimulants and hunger suppression.

Perhaps these slaves are being doped up to focus on the work?

[alephnerd]

> large North Korean methamphetamine trade

It's common all among the working class in Asia and the Asian Diaspora (Bayswater Basic if you've ever been to London). It's dirt cheap and keeps you awake while. doing any monotonous or manual labor.

In this specific case, a drug test for a remote job requires ID verification. It's a simple redundancy to verify that the person you hired is that same person.

[kube-system]

Even if they aren't on drugs, they can't physically show up to the test, because they are lying about their location, and they're trapped in a different country.