Korean workforce in Russia

According to a report by the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), between 2023 and 2025, at leastUSD 30 billion was transferred from Russia to Pyongyang. The North Korean side sent its soldiers to work in Russia, where they were employed, among other places, on construction sites, in meat processing plants, and in the food industry. The money they earned was transferred to North Korean companies directly linked to departments responsible for weapons production and the nuclear armament program.

The data for the report was collected, among other methods, through interviews with North Koreans who managed to escape from Russia. Some of them reported working on construction sites for up to 20 hours a day. They received betweenUSD 1,000 and 1,500 per month, which was then sent to Pyongyang. This practice has been ongoing since at least 2016. In 2017, the United Nations (UN) required member states to repatriate all North Korean laborers to the DPRK by December 2019. Since then, North Korean soldiers have been entering Russia on student visas, under which they officially reside in the country, but in practice work on construction sites without pay.

According to the latest statistics published by Russia in 2024, more than13,000 North Koreans holding student visas were residing in Russian territory. According to an NKHR representative, most of these individuals were not actually studying but were victims of human trafficking. The current number of North Koreans in Russia may be significantly higher.

It was noted that only about10 percent of Russian companies involved in this scheme have been subjected to Western sanctions. Many of them continue to trade with Western partners. NKHR is calling on European governments to take action against these Russian enterprises.

Western sanctions and the prolonged war have forced the Russian Federation to seek new partners, leading to a tightening of relations between the Kremlin and Pyongyang. North Korea itself is one of the most isolated states on the international stage, and cooperation with Russia, which does not mind breaking human rights norms, will bolster its weapons production and nuclear program.