Russians exploit North Korean workers under grueling, inhumane conditions, with only two days of rest annually and shifts lasting 18 hours.
In a concerning development, tens of thousands of North Korean workers have been sent to Russia to fill labor shortages in construction, factories, and IT projects. According to estimates, more than 10,000 were deployed last year, with expectations of exceeding 50,000 in the near future. Many of these workers arrive on student visas to evade sanctions.
The workers face extremely harsh conditions, including 18-hour shifts, minimal rest (only two days off per year), physical abuse by overseers, and inadequate living conditions such as overcrowded shipping containers or unfinished buildings. Many suffer injuries, numbness, and exhaustion, with accounts likening the treatment to slave labor.
North Korean authorities confiscate passports, closely monitor workers with political minders, and take up to 90% of their wages—most of which are remitted to the state as "loyalty fees." Families in North Korea face threats of retaliation if workers fail to comply.
This system has been documented and condemned by the U.S. State Department, United Nations, and South Korean intelligence, highlighting widespread human rights abuses and profits for the North Korean government from overseas labor deployment.
The forced labor serves a dual purpose: supplying Russia with cheap, obedient labor amid shortages caused by ongoing war and providing North Korea with valuable foreign currency income. Notably, Russia and North Korea have strengthened ties, including military cooperation and reconstruction efforts in conflict zones, further embedding this exploitative labor arrangement.
Upon arrival in Russia, North Korean workers are accompanied to the workplace without being able to speak or look at anyone. The workers sleep in dirty, overcrowded containers full of insects or in the middle of unfinished construction sites. Russian government data shows a 12-fold increase in the number of North Koreans entering the country last year, with over 13,000 entering in 2024.
A BBC investigation reveals that thousands of North Koreans are being sent to Russia to work under harsh conditions akin to slavery. The UN banned the use of North Korean workers in Russia in 2019 as an attempt to cut funds for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. However, it appears that this practice continues, contributing significantly to Russia's workforce needs during its labor shortage while generating significant profits for the North Korean regime.
- The exploitative labor arrangement, where North Korean workers are sent to Russia to work under conditions reminiscent of slavery, is a crucial aspect of politics and general news, as it involves war-and-conflicts and international politics, given the strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea, including military cooperation and reconstruction efforts in conflict zones.
- The UN banned the use of North Korean workers in Russia in 2019 as a means to cut funds for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, but recent reports of thousands of North Koreans being sent to Russia to work under harsh, slave-like conditions suggest that this practice continues, contributing significantly to Russia's labor shortage while generating significant profits for the North Korean regime, belonging to the realm of war-and-conflicts and human rights violations in general-news reports.
