Up to 25,000 North Koreans in Russia build Shahed drones under student cover
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Drone manufacturing plant in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, Russia (Photo: Russian media)
Russia is increasingly using North Korean workers to produce
drones for its war against Ukraine, defying international sanctions and
providing North Korea with a significant source of income to finance its
illicit weapons programs, Bloomberg
reported on Sept. 17, citing a report by the United States and its allies.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team estimates that up
to 25,000 North Koreans are employed in Russia’s drone industry, including in
the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, where Shahed drones are assembled.
The report said North Korean workers employed abroad earned
as much as $800 million for the regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un
last year.
Bloomberg said the deepening military ties between Moscow
and Pyongyang extend beyond weapons supplies and troop deployments to labor and
industrial production.
The Kremlin is using North Korean labor in industries
supporting its war against Ukraine, while Kim’s regime gains access to foreign
currency and funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The
arrangement further undermines the sanctions system that Russia itself once
helped enforce, Bloomberg reported.
The report also said North Koreans in Russia are being
passed off as students under a visa program used to circumvent sanctions.
The average annual income of such a “student” is $7,500, but
Kim Jong Un’s regime takes most of the earnings. Analysts said that in some
cases, the amount confiscated exceeded their actual earnings.
The report also said that between 15,000 and 30,000 North
Koreans were working in Russia as of the end of 2025.
On Sept. 3, German newspaper Bild reported that the
expansion of a drone manufacturing plant in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone
in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan already covered more than 1,000 hectares,
according to satellite imagery. Russia is actively building new production
facilities, warehouses and transportation infrastructure there.
Since August, Alabuga has been recruiting young workers from
Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
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