Researchers at Global Rights Compliance have described a network of intermediaries recruiting North Korean nationals to work in Russia. Reuters, the Financial Times and other outlets reported the findings of the new study on October 29. The rights organisation says some of the practices show signs of forced labour and may breach international restrictions concerning North Korea.
According to the published accounts, travel arrangements may have involved documents and visa categories that concealed the actual purpose of employment, including arrangements presented as study programmes. The researchers described intermediaries and financial terms, including fees reaching 150,000 rubles. Those amounts relate to the cases examined and do not indicate a standard fee charged to every worker.
The alleged sanctions violations and indicators of forced labour are the research organisation's conclusions, not findings of a court. Some parties named in the reports disputed elements of the allegations.
GRC representatives told journalists that some workers put in shifts of up to 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, with a substantial share of their earnings transferred to North Korean authorities. The researchers also link some labour placements to enterprises in Russia's war economy.