In Russia, an organized network of intermediaries supplies workers from North Korea to industrial enterprises, including those linked to military production. Investigators have identified specific companies and organizers of a scheme that provides Russian businesses with cheap labor and Pyongyang with additional income bypassing international sanctions.
On October 29, the Financial Times reported, citing a new investigation by the Hague-based international human rights organization Global Rights Compliance (GRC).
The key link in the network, according to investigators, is the Black Horse group of companies, headed by Moscow businessman Vladimir Sokolov. Through a specialized website KNDR.su, Russian employers were offered organized groups of workers from the DPRK for industrial, construction, and agricultural enterprises.
The site advertised teams of 50 to 100 people willing to work 12 hours a day for 28 days a month. Among the advantages of such labor, intermediaries cited discipline and no risk of escape, attributing this to document control by the North Korean embassy.
According to The Japan Times, intermediaries received a commission of 100–150 thousand rubles per recruited worker. Thus, the supply of labor from the DPRK became a separate commercial venture for Russian companies.
Investigators also established the network's connections with enterprises fulfilling orders for the Russian war economy. Among them is an aluminum products manufacturer that worked with defense industry suppliers, and a food enterprise near Moscow that produces dry rations for the Russian military.
Photos from the food enterprise captured DPRK citizens working on a line producing animal feed. Nevertheless, the same enterprise supplies food products to the Russian army. Investigators did not provide evidence that the captured employees directly produced military rations.
To study the recruitment mechanism, GRC representatives contacted intermediaries posing as potential employers. Ruslan Zhukov, the network's operational director, told them about registering North Koreans with student visas and formally enrolling them in educational institutions they do not actually attend.
According to the investigators, this scheme allows circumventing restrictions on the employment of DPRK citizens imposed by the UN Security Council. It also deprives workers of proper legal protection. A significant portion of their earnings is confiscated by the North Korean state, per GRC's conclusions.
At the same time, Zhukov rejected accusations of forced labor and sanctions violations. He insists that these are exclusively students undergoing vocational practice within educational programs.
Vladimir Sokolov is already under EU sanctions. On October 12, the EU Council imposed restrictions on him for facilitating Russia's trade and industrial cooperation with the DPRK. Golden Autumn Agroholding, part of the Black Horse group, was also sanctioned.
The investigation shows that Moscow–Pyongyang cooperation is not limited to arms supplies and the participation of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine. The use of DPRK labor helps Russian enterprises offset labor shortages, and the revenues generated, according to GRC, may be used to fund North Korea's military programs.
As previously reported by Kurs.com.ua, in September international observers already established the use of DPRK citizens at Russian enterprises, including drone production, under the cover of student visas. The new investigation provides the first detailed account of a specific intermediary network, its leaders, and the commercial mechanism for recruiting workers.
