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last yr.

North Korea Sends Tens of Thousands of Workers to Russia in Near-Enslavement Conditions

Escaped laborers describe constant surveillance, wage seizures, eighteen-hour workdays with minimal rest under a sanction-evasion scheme.

Des portraits de Vladimir Poutine et Kim Jong-un à Pyongyang, en Corée du Nord, le 19 juin 2024.
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Overview

  • South Korean intelligence and BBC reporting estimate up to 50,000 North Korean laborers are in Russia in 2025.
  • Escaped workers recount eighteen-hour shifts, two days off per year, constant surveillance and physical confinement under North Korean agents.
  • Most wages are seized by Pyongyang as a “loyalty tax,” leaving laborers with only $100–$200 per month paid after repatriation.
  • Russian government data recorded about 13,000 North Korean entries in 2024, with many entering on student visas to evade the UN ban on overseas labor exports.
  • This BBC-led reporting is the first to expose large-scale civilian labor transfers beyond battlefield support, underscoring deepening Moscow–Pyongyang economic ties.