International law foundation Global Rights Compliance has released a new report (pdf) exposing how Russian businesses are exploiting North Korean workers in a state-sponsored forced labour programme which is funding North Korea’s ballistic missile programme and bolstering Russia’s war economy.

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• Report reveals North Korean workers advertised online to fuel state-sponsored forced labour programme in Russia
• Undercover investigation exposes first-hand admission from inside a Russian broker network
• North Korean workers are sent to Russia under the guise of students to evade UN sanctions
• Broker networks charge a commission of 100,000 to 150,000 rubbles per North Korean worker
• Programme funds North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile programme
• Overseas forced labour currently generates between $450m – $800m for the DPRK
• North Korean workers forced to work up to 18 hours per day, six to seven times a week, forfeiting 90% of their income to the North Korean regime
• Russia’s need to boost workforce intensified from economic pressures and demands of Ukraine war
• Workers are used in facilities essential to Russia’s war economy
• Investigation exposes some of the first images of North Korean workers in Russia
• Over 50,000 North Korean labourers estimated to be in Russia

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