Russians plan to hire 12,000 Shahed drone assemblers from North Korea soon – intelligence

By the end of 2025, Russia plans to bring in around 12,000 Shahed assemblers from North Korea to work at companies in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan.

Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Details: The Ukrainian intelligence service reiterated that this is the location where Russia manufactures long-range Shahed/Geran-type drones, which it uses to carry out terrorist strikes on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

"To discuss the details of purchasing labour, a meeting was held at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the end of October between local officials and representatives of the North Korean company Jihyang Technology Trade Company, which is responsible for sourcing and selecting North Korean workers," the intelligence service noted.

They added that Russia is promising to pay workers from the DPRK around US$2.5 per hour, with each shift lasting at least 12 hours.

"Such measures indicate deepening strategic cooperation between the two dictatorships in order to continue their aggressive war against Ukraine," the intelligence service emphasised.

Background:

• In October, Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russia's military command was deploying North Korean units to support its operations in Sumy Oblast. North Koreans, in particular, have been carrying out tasks as UAV operators.
• In the summer, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, stated that North Korea was planning to transfer 50-100 units of its equipment and around 6,000 servicemen to Russia.

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