Russia is using North Korean workers to produce drones for its war against Ukraine. In one special economic zone in Tatarstan alone, 25,000 North Koreans work in violation of sanctions against Pyongyang.
Russia is increasingly recruiting workers from the DPRK to produce military drones that it uses in the war against Ukraine, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). This mechanism was created at the initiative of the United States and South Korea to comply with sanctions imposed on North Korea. It involves 11 countries, including Germany.
For Pyongyang, this cooperation (with Russia) is an important source of income for financing illegal weapons development programs, the document also says.
Up to 25,000 North Koreans produce drones in Russia
According to these data, up to 25,000 North Korean citizens work in the Russian drone manufacturing sector, including in the special economic zone “Alabuga“ in Tatarstan. To circumvent sanctions, North Korean workers enter Russia under the guise of students, and their average annual income is $7,500, the report also says.
According to MSMT estimates, this amount exceeds five times the income that North Koreans could receive in China. And this makes Russia an increasingly attractive destination for them. By the end of 2025, there were between 20,000 and 70,000 North Korean workers working in China, and between 15,000 and 30,000 in Russia, the monitoring group said.
Pyongyang uses the proceeds to develop weapons
Most of the money earned is confiscated by the DPRK authorities, and in some cases, the money embezzled by the state exceeds the actual income of the workers, the report's authors wrote. Thus, North Koreans working abroad brought the Kim Jong-un regime up to $800 million in revenue last year. These funds have provided funding for the nuclear and missile programs that North Korea is developing in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, MSMT said.
These data show that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not limited to the supply of weapons and the sending of soldiers, but also includes the provision of labor for industrial production, the document also says.