Russia Employs 25,000 North Koreans in Drone Production
Up to 25,000 North Koreans were believed to work in Russia’s drone industry, and the report said they could earn the regime $800 million in 2025.
- On Wednesday, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team reported Russia is mobilizing up to 25,000 North Korean workers to assemble drones at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, for use against Ukraine.
- This 11-nation monitoring team, formed after a 2024 Russian veto ended a United Nations panel, revealed North Korean laborers abroad earned up to $800 million for the Kim Jong-un regime in 2025.
- Approximately 15,000 to 30,000 laborers were in Russia at the end of 2025, compared to 20,000 to 70,000 in China, with authorities exercising extreme control to prevent defections and reprisals against family members.
- Workers enter Russia disguised as students to evade sanctions, with monthly wages often confiscated by the regime; in some cases, the forfeited amount exceeds their actual earnings, the report said.
- These activities violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, as Pyongyang continues mobilizing labor to finance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite ongoing international monitoring efforts.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Around 25,000 North Korean Fake Students Work at Russian Drone Plants
Abound 25,000 North Korean citizens are employed at Russian drone manufacturing facilities, including the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, as Russia expands its use of North Korean labor in defense-related production, Bloomberg reported on September 17. Citing a report compiled by the United States and its partners, Bloomberg said North Korean workers employed abroad generated more than $800 million for Pyongyang in 2025. The revenue …
Up to 25,000 DPRK citizens may be involved in the production of drones in Russia, and workers are likely to be processed as students to circumvent international sanctions.
Defying international sanctions, Russia relies on more and more North Korean workers to build drones to be used against Ukraine, and this practice provides the Phenian regime with an essential source of revenue for financing its illegal weapons programs, according to a report published by the United States and its allies, quoted by Bloomberg and ...
Russia Taps North Korean Workers to Make Drones Under Fake Visas
Russia is increasingly mobilizing North Korean workers to build military drones for use against Ukraine in defiance of international sanctions, giving Pyongyang a key source of revenue to fund its unlawful weapons programs, the US and its allies said in a report.
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