Bloomberg: Russia uses North Korean workers to produce drones intended for the war in Ukraine

Russia is using an increasing number of North Korean workers to manufacture drones used in the war against Ukraine, according to a report published on September 16 by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, as reported by Bloomberg and cited by Agerpres. The workers are involved, among other things, in activities carried out at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, where unmanned aerial vehicles are assembled.

The report estimates that up to 25,000 North Koreans work in Russia’s drone industry. To evade international sanctions, they are allegedly included in student visa schemes.

A North Korean worker earns an average of approximately 7,500 dollars a year in Russia, but most of the money is allegedly confiscated by the regime in Pyongyang. The earnings of North Korean workers abroad allegedly reached 800 million dollars in 2025, contributing to the financing of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic programs.

At the end of 2025, between 15,000 and 30,000 North Koreans were in Russia, while another 20,000-70,000 worked in China. The document warns that the workers are strictly monitored, and defection can lead to reprisals against their families. Russian-North Korean cooperation thus extends beyond arms and troop deliveries, encompassing labor and industrial production.