South Korean officials say Pyongyang is sending thousands of men to Russia for grueling, near-slave labor to ease wartime shortages. Defectors report 20-hour shifts, beatings, and constant surveillance — most wages seized by the North Korean state.
Moscow has turned to Pyongyang for missiles, shells, troops – and increasingly, manpower – as many Russian men are fighting, dead or have fled. South Korean officials estimate Pyongyang could send over 50,000 laborers, despite a 2019 UN ban intended to cut off funds for Kim Jong-un’s regime.
Six defectors described to BBC punishing shifts of up to 20 hours a day building high-rises, with only two days off a year, under constant surveillance from North Korean agents.
Workers slept in overcrowded, bug-infested containers or unfinished buildings, often without safety gear, and were beaten for resting. Injuries were ignored; one man was denied hospital care after a fall.
Most wages are seized as “loyalty fees” for the North Korean state, with workers promised USD 100– USD 200 a month only upon return home – a tactic to deter escapes. Many arrive hoping to escape poverty, but soon learn they are paid far less than other foreign laborers.
Russian government data show over 13,000 North Koreans entered in 2024, many on student visas to skirt sanctions. Officials say some may be deployed to occupied Ukrainian territories. In June, a senior Russian official confirmed 5,000 would rebuild the border region of Kursk.
Defectors said the regime has tightened control, cutting rare trips outside work sites and increasing ideological training. Fewer than a dozen workers now manage to flee to South Korea annually, half the number before the war.
“This will be the lasting legacy of Kim and Putin’s wartime friendship,” said North Korea-Russia expert Andrei Lankov.
(jh)
Source: BBC