Russia is increasingly attracting workers from North Korea to produce military drones for use in the war against Ukraine, while ignoring international sanctions, notes the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Group (MSMT), established by the United States, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and other countries. This cooperation provides Pyongyang with an important source of income to finance illegal weapons development programs, according to a report published on September 16 by MSMT. ## ## Up to 25,000 North Koreans are working in UAV production in Russia According to this data, up to 25,000 citizens of North Korea are employed in the Russian drone production sector, including at enterprises in the special economic zone "Alabuga" in Tatarstan. To circumvent sanctions, North Korean workers enter Russia under the guise of students, and their average annual earnings amount to approximately $7,500, the report states. According to MSMT estimates, this amount is five times higher than the income that North Koreans could earn in China, making Russia an increasingly attractive destination for them. At the end of 2025, between 20,000 and 70,000 North Korean workers were employed in China, while in Russia, the number ranged from 15,000 to 30,000, the report further notes. ## ## Pyongyang directs earned funds towards weapons development Most of the earned funds are seized by the North Korean authorities, and in some cases, the amount confiscated exceeded the actual earnings of these individuals, the authors of the report write. Thus, North Korean specialists working abroad brought the Kim Jong-un regime up to $800 million in income last year. These funds financed nuclear and missile programs that North Korea is developing in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, MSMT points out. These data demonstrate how military cooperation between Russia and North Korea extends beyond arms supplies and troop deployments to encompass labor resources and industrial production, the report states.
