Between 30,000 and 100,000 North Korean workers earned as much as 1.07 trillion won in illicit foreign currency last year in at least 17 countries, according to a new report. Of those, an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 work under cover at drone factories in Russia, where annual income averages about $7,500 (roughly 10.28 million won) per worker. Eleven countries, including South Korea, issued a joint statement urging nations that host North Korean workers to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
North Korea is illegally dispatching between 35,600 and 101,280 workers abroad, according to a report titled "North Korea's Violation and Evasion of UN Security Council Resolutions Through Overseas Worker Dispatches," released on the 16th by member states of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). Under Security Council Resolution 2397, North Korea was required to repatriate all overseas workers by 2019, but at least 17 countries are still suspected of hosting them. Those workers are estimated to have generated between $450 million and $800 million over the past year, contributing to North Korea's illicit nuclear and ballistic missile development.
Most North Korean workers abroad appear to be stationed in China and Russia. The report estimated that roughly 20,000 to 70,000 North Korean workers have been sent to China. Although 10,000 to 20,000 workers were repatriated to North Korea between 2023 and 2025, another 10,000 new North Korean workers entered China between January 2025 and January 2026.
In Russia, the number of North Korean workers stood at 15,000 to 30,000 as of the end of last year, and they are producing military drones at Russian drone factories. To accommodate these illegal dispatches, Russia created a student visa program that disguises North Korean workers as students. Annual income for a North Korean worker in Russia is estimated to average about $7,500. Monthly pay for North Korean workers in Russia varies by sector but can be up to five times higher than for those in China, meaning assignments to Russia contribute substantially to the North Korean government's foreign currency earnings. North Korea confiscates 80% to 90% of the wages the workers earn, and that money is used to fund nuclear and missile development.
In some cases, the amount seized exceeds a worker's actual income, leaving the worker in debt to the North Korean authorities, the report found. To prevent defections, the authorities tightly restrict workers' movements and contact with outsiders, and workers who do defect leave family members in North Korea who face a high risk of reprisal.
Pointing to the continuing violations and evasion of Security Council resolutions, the MSMT said in its joint statement that the Security Council should reestablish a panel of experts with the same mandate and structure as before. The UN Security Council's panel of experts on North Korea sanctions was disbanded in March 2024 after Russia objected. The MSMT was created in October of that year as a new monitoring body for North Korea sanctions, following a proposal by South Korea. Led by South Korea, the United States and Japan, it includes 11 countries in total, among them Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The team published its first report on Russia-North Korea military cooperation in May last year, followed by a second report on North Korean cyber activity in October.
