North Koreans Build Russian Drones Despite Sanctions

Russia is using North Korean workers to manufacture military drones for the war in Ukraine despite international sanctions, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team.

Between 15,000 and 30,000 North Korean laborers are currently working in Russia, including a contingent at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, which produces drones for the Russian military. As many as 25,000 North Koreans have reportedly been earmarked for work at a sanctioned drone factory there, although the report says the number deployed so far is lower than previous estimates.

Nearly all North Korean laborers who entered Russia in 2025 did so on student visas, allowing them to circumvent UN restrictions on employing North Korean nationals. Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has therefore expanded beyond the supply of weapons and troops into arms production.

Each North Korean laborer in Russia generates an estimated $7,500 in wages annually, nearly all of which is forfeited to the North Korean state.

The report says Russia and North Korea have developed an extensive system for evading international sanctions, including the use of student and tourist visas, changes to Russian law and networks of intermediaries.

(max)