Due to the lack of labor caused by a long war with Ukraine, Russia again turns to labor migration, in particular to North Korea. In 2024, thousands of DPRK citizens arrived in the Russian Federation, who work mainly on construction sites. According to South Korean intelligence, the number of North Korean workers in Russia increased significantly last year - 13 221 citizens, which is 12 times more than a year earlier.
This process has occurred against the background of violations of the UN Security Council resolutions, which forbid North Korea to send their citizens to work abroad. The UN decisions were adopted through North Korea nuclear tests, and they demanded the return of all migrant workers until December 2019. However, as it turned out, these resolutions did not stop the departure of employees to Russia, which puts into question the effectiveness of international sanctions. According to intelligence, most North Koreans who come to Russia work on construction sites throughout the country. At the same time, there are suspicions that the Russian Federation and the DPRK use student visas as a cover for migrant workers. Among those who arrived in 2024, nearly 8,000 people said they had come for educational purposes. This departure of workers from North Korea to Russia also occurs against the backdrop of a "comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement concluded between the countries. This document is likely to facilitate such labor movements despite international restrictions. The assistance of North Korea in the form of migrant workers may be part of a wider political and economic support between the two countries.
This process that violates international resolutions increases the stress in the context of international sanctions and gives grounds for new questions about the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of sanctions against North Korea. The increased number of North Korean migrants in Russia can be an important factor that will affect the political relations between countries and the global order as a whole.
