North Korea has sent about 15,000 migrant workers to Russia, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported, citing South Korean intelligence.
According to Russian statistics, the number of North Koreans entering Russia in 2024 has increased 12 times compared to the previous year.
Most DPRK citizens now work in the Far East. Russia hopes that North Korean workers will soon appear in major cities in other regions of the country. It is noted that local employers appreciate DPRK workers because they accept low wages, are willing to work 12 hours and do not complain about working conditions.
In early February, the Yonhap news agency also wrote, citing intelligence, that Pyongyang had sent thousands of workers to Russia amid a labour shortage. According to the Russian Labour Ministry, the country’s labour shortage could reach 2.4 million people by 2030, compared to the available 1.5 million.
Many of the North Koreans entered Russia on student visas. The publication Important Stories, citing the FSB Border Service, wrote that 7.8 thousand North Koreans arrived in Russia in 2024 – the maximum since 2019. The number of students from North Korea, Mediazone noted, began to grow in the third quarter of 2024. At the same time, back in April 2024, the Russian Ministry of Education reported that about 130 students from North Korea were studying in the country at that time.
It is forbidden to employ North Korean citizens by the decision of the UN Security Council as part of the sanctions regime aimed at limiting the financing of Pyongyang’s nuclear programmes.