Russia to Employ 12,000 North Korean Workers for Drone Production
Russia plans to bring in about 12,000 North Korean workers to make long-range drones in Tatarstan to keep up terrorist attacks on Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) on Telegram.
By the end of 2025, the aggressor intends to import labor from North Korea for enterprises in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, where Shaded/Geran drones are manufactured. These drones are used by the Russian army to attack Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
To organize the supply of workers, a meeting was held in October at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs between local government officials and representatives of the North Korean company Jihyang Technology Trade Company, which is involved in the selection of workers.
Workers are promised a salary of approximately $2.5 per hour for 12-hour shifts.
“Such measures indicate a deepening of strategic cooperation between the two dictatorships to continue their aggressive war against Ukraine,” the statement said.
The DPRK is increasingly acting as a close ally of Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, providing comprehensive support ranging from the supply of ammunition and manpower to direct participation in combat operations.
Thousands of North Korean workers are being brutally exploited in Russia, performing hard labor in conditions exacerbated by the war with Ukraine. They are forced to work 18 hours a day without proper protective equipment, live in overcrowded and unsanitary housing, and are subjected to physical punishment for taking breaks at work.
Many are brought to Russia on “student visas” to circumvent the UN ban on the use of North Korean labor abroad. Wages are minimal, with most of the money confiscated by Pyongyang as a “loyalty fee,” and workers receiving only $100-200 per month upon their return.
Moreover, North Korea has sent thousands of its military personnel to Russia under the guise of civilian construction workers, some of whom are involved in infrastructure and mine clearance work near the border with Ukraine, effectively providing military support to Moscow. According to South Korean intelligence estimates, more than 10,000 people are already in the conflict zone, while hundreds have already been killed. Other data, quoted by Euractiv in September, put the potential death toll at over 2,000 troops.
As The Gaze reported earlier, North Korea supplies Russia with 35 to 50% of all its ammunition needs, becoming one of the main sources of weapons for the war against Ukraine.
Read more on The Gaze: Kremlin’s Foreign Legion: North Korea’s Role in Russia’s War and the New Global Divide