Russia attracts workers from North Korea to drone production under the guise of students
Russia is increasingly using workers from North Korea at enterprises of the military-industrial complex, including in the production of drones for the war against Ukraine. To bypass international sanctions, North Korean citizens are issued student visas and officially presented as students.
This is reported by Bloomberg, citing a new report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), which includes the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and several other states. The report was published on September 16.
According to MSMT estimates, by the end of 2025 there were between 15,000 and 30,000 North Korean workers in Russia. They are employed in the defense industry, manufacturing, shipbuilding, steel processing, construction, agriculture, and other sectors.
Separately, the report's authors point to the special economic zone "Alabuga" in Tatarstan, where Russia has established large-scale production of strike drones. The MSMT materials include estimates that up to 25,000 North Korean citizens could have been planned to be attracted to work at the enterprise. At the same time, the group notes that the confirmed number of workers already sent there is still lower than previous public estimates.
Alabuga hosts drone assembly lines, including Russian Geran-2 drones. The MSMT claims that North Korean workers have already been sent to enterprises producing military UAVs, which are then used by the Russian army against Ukraine.
Workers are registered as students
To attract North Korean citizens, Russia has created a scheme using student visas. Formally, North Koreans come to the country for study or vocational training, although they actually work at Russian enterprises.
Russian educational institutions, according to the report, provide enrollment documents required for obtaining such visas and act as the inviting party. One of the intermediaries, the Interstate Migration Center, openly offers Russian companies services to attract North Korean workers.
Official Russian data also indicate a sharp increase in the number of "educational" visas. In 2025, Russia issued more than 36,000 visas to North Korean citizens, with over 98% of them — about 35,800 — issued as educational.
The MSMT considers this practice a way to bypass UN sanctions, which require states to stop using North Korean overseas labor that generates income for the North Korean state.
Most salaries go to the North Korean regime
The average North Korean worker in Russia, according to MSMT estimates, earns about 7,500 dollars per year. At the same time, North Korean authorities take 80% to 90% of the earned money. In some cases, deductions plus additional payments can exceed actual earnings, causing workers to owe the state.
In total, outside North Korea, MSMT estimates the number of North Korean workers to range from 35,600 to more than 101,000. The majority are in China and Russia. In 2025, the overseas labor program could have brought Pyongyang between 450 and 800 million dollars. According to MSMT participants, these funds are also used to finance North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
The placement of North Koreans directly at Russian defense industry enterprises, according to the report's authors, indicates a further expansion of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang — from arms supplies and participation of North Korean military personnel to direct industrial production of weapons on Russian territory.
Based on materials from: Bloomberg, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan / MSMT, MSMT report
