Up to 25,000 North Koreans work in Russian drone production

Russia is recruiting North Korean workers to manufacture drones used in the war against Ukraine by bringing them into the country on student visas. Up to 25,000 North Korean workers are currently employed in drone production at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Russia's Tatarstan.

Source: a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT); a joint statement on the report

Quote: "North Korean overseas labourers are reportedly employed in Russia's manufacturing industry including as many as 25,000 North Korean labourers at a widely-sanctioned Russian drone factory in Alabuga, Tatarstan…

The DPRK has promoted the deployment of labourers to Russian Geran-2 drone factories in the Alabuga SEZ in Tatarstan, Russia since 2025."

Details: According to the MSMT report on North Korea's overseas labour programme, Russia currently hosts between 15,000 and 30,000 North Korean workers, linked to 70-80 DPRK companies.

Most are employed in construction, agriculture and similar sectors. However, up to 1,000 workers are employed at strategically important businesses, including weapons manufacturing plants, steel processing facilities or shipbuilding complexes.

Russia currently ranks second worldwide in terms of the number of North Korean overseas workers, behind only China. The number of North Korean workers in Russia has risen particularly sharply since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia sends some of them to work in roles supporting its military-industrial complex.

North Koreans work within the Alabuga special economic zone, which is involved in supplying Russian forces with drones used in the war against Ukraine. In 2025, for instance, Russia completed construction of a large residential complex at Alabuga to house foreign workers, including North Korean citizens.

On average, a North Korean worker earns around US$7,500 a year in Russia, although almost all of this income is seized for the benefit of the North Korean regime.

Over recent years, Russia and North Korea have built up an extensive system combining state-level sanctions evasion with corrupt practices. For example, instead of work permits, Russia uses student and tourist visas to bring in North Koreans. In 2025, almost all North Korean workers entered Russia on student visas, posing as international students.

According to the report, intermediaries from third countries may also be involved in recruiting and dispatching North Korean workers to Russia. At least one such case is known to have occurred in Belarus.

Background: The BBC reported earlier that North Korean workers who have fled the country told the BBC about slave-like working conditions in Russia, where they are sent to fill the labour shortage exacerbated by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

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