Key facts
- North Korean workers are being supplied to Russian companies disguised as students.
- The scheme is described as a state-backed forced labor program.
- The program allegedly bolsters Russia's war economy and North Korea's missile development.
A Russian network of brokers, sponsored by Pyongyang, is sending North Koreans to work in Russia under exploitative conditions and in violation of UN sanctions, a report by Global Rights Compliance (GRC) said on Thursday. Some workers are employed at factories producing items Moscow uses in the Ukraine war. GRC cited open-source information, facial recognition technology, and undercover investigators posing as prospective employers. The group's legal adviser, Elise Lauriot Prevost, stated the operation represents a convergence of North Korea's use of forced labor to finance its weapons program and Russia's reliance on labor for its war economy. Workers are reportedly forced to stay on the job through coercion and threats against them and their families, laboring 12-hour days with two days off per month. North Korea is directly involved in running the network, with officials from its Moscow embassy identified as inspecting work sites.