Up to 100,000 North Korean workers sent abroad, some involved in Russian drone production: Report

North Korea has sent around 100,000 workers abroad, mostly to China and Russia, with some involved in manufacturing military drones at Russian factories in violation of United Nations sanctions, an international monitoring report showed Wednesday.

The latest report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) showed that North Korea continues to deploy workers overseas despite a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution requiring UN member countries to repatriate North Korean nationals earning income within their jurisdictions by the end of 2019.

The MSMT was established in October 2024 to monitor and report on the implementation of UN sanctions against North Korea, as the UNSC's 1718 Committee Panel of Experts was disbanded in April that year following Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate.

The team comprises Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Britain and the United States.

According to the report, an estimated 35,600 to 101,280 North Korean workers remain deployed overseas, with nearly all of them located in China and Russia.

"Despite the 2019 repatriation deadline mandated by UNSC [resolution] 2397, at least 17 countries are suspected of continuing to host laborers, generating between $450 million and $800 million in 2025 to fund the DPRK's unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs," the report said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Russia had an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 North Korean workers as of the end of 2025. Some of them were involved in manufacturing military drones at factories in Russia, while the Russian government has created a student visa scheme to disguise North Korean workers as students, it said.

Each North Korean worker in Russia generates an estimated average of $7,500 in wages annually, with monthly wages potentially up to five times higher than those earned by North Korean workers in China, depending on the industry.

China is estimated to host between 20,000 and 70,000 North Korean workers. Though an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 workers were temporarily repatriated between 2023 and 2025, around 10,000 new North Korean workers arrived in China between January 2025 and January 2026, according to the report.

The MSMT estimates that North Korean workers overseas generated between $450 million and $800 million in 2025. It said nearly all of their wages are confiscated by the North Korean regime, with an estimated 80 to 90 percent of their earnings taken by Pyongyang.

In some cases, the amount confiscated exceeds their actual earnings, leaving them indebted to the government.

North Korean authorities also exercise strict control over workers' movements and interactions with outsiders to prevent defections. Workers who defect face the risk of reprisals against family members remaining in North Korea, according to the report.

"We encourage all UN Member States to raise awareness and hold responsible parties and facilitators accountable for UNSCR violations, including through domestic action," the MSMT said.

"Considering the continued violations and evasions of relevant UNSCRs, we urge the UN Security Council to reestablish the Panel of Experts in the same strength and structure it had prior to its disbandment," it added.

The team also vowed to continue to monitor the implementation of UN sanctions related to North Korea and expose ongoing attempts by Pyongyang and others to violate or evade the measures.

Yonhap