18 hours of work, 2 days off a year: North's laborers in Russia exposed to 'slave-like' conditions
Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 16:04
Updated: 13 Aug. 2025, 18:24
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![A worker is seen at a construction site in Moscow, Russia, in this undated file photo. [EPA/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/13/f507848b-6c57-4d14-85b5-3b730b4abf2f.jpg)
A worker is seen at a construction site in Moscow, Russia, in this undated file photo. [EPA/YONHAP]
North Korean workers dispatched to Russia to earn money to help finance the Kim Jong-un regime are being subjected to harsh surveillance, control and what defectors describe as “slave-like” conditions, according to a BBC report on Tuesday.
Citing testimonies from six defectors, the BBC said North Korean laborers at Russian high-rise apartment construction sites and other locations often work 18-hour days, from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next morning, followed by only a few hours of sleep before repeating the cycle. They reportedly receive only two days off a year.
During their deployment, workers live together in cramped shipping containers under the watch of North Korean security officials and are typically allowed outside only once a month — and even then, only in groups of five to monitor each other.
Sending North Korean workers overseas violates UN Security Council sanctions, which have prohibited such labor exports since 2019. Yet, the number of North Koreans sent to Russia appears to be growing.
South Korean intelligence officials told the BBC that 10,000 North Korean workers were dispatched to Russia last year, and the figure is expected to exceed 50,000 this year as Pyongyang and Moscow publicly expand cooperation.
Russian government data show that 13,000 North Koreans entered Russia last year — a 12-fold increase from the year before — mostly on student visas, which experts say is a loophole to bypass the UN ban.
Facing a severe labor shortage after more than three years of war in Ukraine, Russia has been filling gaps with North Korean labor, including deploying them to rebuild areas devastated by Ukrainian attacks.
![North Korean workers are seen at a construction site in this photo released by the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Aug. 10. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/13/3ff292e8-ab9a-4a18-8b20-00cfca4c9449.jpg)
North Korean workers are seen at a construction site in this photo released by the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Aug. 10. [NEWS1]
“Russia is suffering a severe labor shortage right now and North Koreans offer the perfect solution. They are cheap, hard-working and don't get into trouble,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor of North Korean studies at Kookmin University, in comments to the BBC.
In North Korea, assignments to Russia are coveted as lucrative opportunities, requiring strict vetting by the regime. In reality, workers earn just $100 to $200 a month, with most of their pay siphoned off by the state as a “loyalty fee.” In some cases, workers have fled after being told they would not receive any of their earnings because “the state needs the money.”
A defector identified only as “Tae” told the BBC that Central Asian workers at the same sites produced only a third as much work but earned five times more pay. He was “ashamed,” Tae said, adding, “I felt like I was in a labor camp; a prison without bars.” Such disparities have led to North Korean laborers being mocked as “slaves” in Russia.
Tae managed to escape under the cover of darkness and, with the help of a lawyer, eventually made it to South Korea.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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