Seoul: Thousands of North Korean laborers have reportedly been dispatched to Russia in 2024, in what South Korea's spy agency describes as a breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions targeting Pyongyang. This development raises concerns about North Korea's compliance with international mandates.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that these laborers have been assigned to various construction sites across Russia. This deployment appears to be motivated by Russia's workforce shortages due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The NIS findings suggest that North Korea has continued to send workers abroad despite restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council in response to North Korea's weapons tests. These resolutions explicitly prohibit North Korea from exporting its labor force, mandating the return of all North Korean workers to their homeland by December 2019.
A significant number of North Korean workers are believed to have entered Russia under the guise of student visas. Recent statistics indicate that 13,221 North Koreans entered Russia last year, marking a substantial increase compared to the previous year, as reported by Radio Free Asia, which cited data from Russia's federal statistics service. Of those who arrived, 7,887 claimed their reason for visiting was educational.
This labor deployment occurs alongside North Korea's continued backing of Russia's military operations against Ukraine. South Korean officials estimate that North Korea has also sent approximately 11,000 troops to Russia's western front-line region of Kursk, participating in battles against Ukrainian forces.