Exploitation of North Korean Workers Unveiled in Russia
Thousands of North Korean workers are currently in Russia, filling critical labor shortages as Russian men are engaged or deceased in the Ukraine war. The BBC and other investigative reports document the brutality and systemic nature of this forced labor.
Official Russian statistics show that over 13,000 North Koreans entered the country in 2024, twelve times as many as the previous year [1]. Many of these workers are employed on large construction sites, others in textile factories or IT centers. They work long hours, often in hazardous environments, such as construction and war-related industries supporting Russia’s economy amid the Ukraine conflict. Their living conditions are described as overcrowded and filthy, with strict control by North Korean security agents.
The conditions for these workers are miserable, with exposure to dangerous situations and a lack of safety equipment. Some North Korean workers have reported being beaten by supervisors for falling asleep on the job. Workers sleep in dirty, crowded shipping containers infested with vermin or on the floors of unfinished apartment blocks, with tarpaulins used to cover the doors to keep out the cold [1].
The UN Security Council sanctions since 2017 prohibit the deployment of North Korean laborers overseas because their wages are often used to fund Pyongyang’s regime and missile programs. Russia and other countries are thus in violation by employing these workers clandestinely, often ignoring or evading international scrutiny by falsifying visa types [1].
Enforcement is difficult due to covert methods and weak regulatory oversight in host countries. Some countries (including the U.S.) have sanctioned Russian companies found using North Korean IT workers, highlighting ongoing sanction violations [2].
Despite UN sanctions, the exploitation of North Korean workers in Russia endures largely because it supports Russia’s war economy, and Pyongyang benefits financially from continued labor exports [1]. In June 2022, high-ranking Russian official Sergei Shoigu announced that 5,000 North Koreans would be sent to the war-torn Kursk region for reconstruction [4].
While UN sanctions provide a legal framework, real enforcement is uneven. Some diplomatic and monitoring efforts seek to identify and expose these abuses. For example, the UN and advocacy groups highlight the problem publicly to build pressure. The U.S. Treasury and Justice Departments have imposed sanctions and prosecuted enablers abroad [2]. However, Russia’s internal moves towards deportations of some North Koreans may partly reflect anti-immigrant policies rather than compliance with sanctions [3].
In summary, the exploitation of North Korean workers in Russia is widespread and brutal, continuing despite UN sanctions. Covert operations, weak enforcement, and geopolitical considerations undermine effective measures against this human rights abuse. Few North Korean workers manage to escape their inhumane working conditions.
- The ongoing employment of North Korean workers in Russia, despite UN sanctions, raises concerns about the country's adherence to international labor policies and human rights.
- The scrutiny of war-and-conflicts, general-news, politics, crime-and-justice, and employment-policy becomes essential as Russia's employment of North Korean workers continues to support its war economy, violate international labor standards, and perpetuate human rights abuses.
