North Korean workers are being recruited into forced labour in Russia through a broker network that uses bogus student enrolments to skirt United Nations sanctions, according to a months-long investigation by Global Rights Compliance published Thursday.
The Netherlands-based nonprofit said the network brings North Koreans into Russia on student visas as part of a state-sponsored work programme that helps fund Pyongyang’s ballistic missile development.
Operated by Russian businessman Vladimir Sokolov, labour-brokering platform KNDR.su markets North Korean workers to prospective Russian employers in agriculture, construction, industry and IT, charging a commission of 100,000-150,000 roubles ($1,240-$1,860) per placement, the report said.
In conversations with investigators posing as prospective employers, Sokolov’s operations director, Ruslan Zhukov, said North Korean workers were enrolled in colleges they did not attend “to avoid the application of labour law”, according to the law foundation. Zhukov also described the workers being required to work 12 hours a day, six days a week.
UN member states are prohibited from hosting North Korean workers under a 2017 UN Security Council resolution intended to deprive Pyongyang of funds for its nuclear weapons and missile programmes. Despite the sanctions, between 35,600 and 101,280 North Korean workers were based overseas in 2025, generating an estimated $450m-$800m for Pyongyang, according to an 11-country sanctions monitoring team.
Russia granted more than 36,000 visas to North Koreans in 2025, a fourfold increase from the previous year, almost all of which were officially for educational purposes.
The report said the network also helped support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, with Sokolov publicising at least two work sites with links to Moscow’s military-industrial complex.
Sokolov and Zhukov did not respond to requests for comment sent to Sokolov’s holding company, Black Horse, and KNDR.su. The report said Zhukov denied the allegations, calling them “false, fabricated, and categorically rejected in their entirety”.
“The matter concerns exclusively students of a specialised college, sent to Russia within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement on the exchange of experience and the provision of venues for educational and industrial practical training,” a statement attributed to Zhukov said.
Lara Strangways, head of business and human rights at Global Rights Compliance, said the system exploited workers. “North Korean workers are being sent to Russian factories through a network that serves both states at once: Their labour props up Russian industry, including sites linked to the war in Ukraine, while the revenue they generate helps fund North Korea’s military programme,” Strangways said.
North Korea and Russia have deepened cooperation since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Cold War-era allies ratified a mutual defence treaty in 2024, and Pyongyang has deployed thousands of soldiers to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The scheme shows how North Korea and Russia are deepening cooperation, with forced labour reportedly funding both Pyongyang's missile programme and Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
- The reported growth in North Korean workers in Russia - with visa numbers quadrupling in 2025 - suggests the practice is expanding despite existing UN sanctions.
- The use of student visas to bypass international law raises questions about enforcement of sanctions and the vulnerability of workers exploited through the system.
Background
North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes since 2006. A 2017 Security Council resolution banned member states from hosting North Korean workers as part of efforts to cut off funding for those programmes. Russia, which along with China has opposed further sanctions against Pyongyang, has grown closer to North Korea since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, signing a mutual defence treaty in 2024 and receiving troops from Pyongyang for the war.
Key Perspectives
Global Rights Compliance: Says the broker network is a state-sponsored scheme using student visas to evade sanctions and labour law, with workers required to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, and that their labour supports both Russia's industry linked to the war and North Korea's military programme.
Ruslan Zhukov (operations director at KNDR.su): Denied the allegations, calling them “false, fabricated, and categorically rejected in their entirety”, and said the matter concerns students sent under an intergovernmental agreement for educational and industrial training.
What to Watch
- Whether the UN Security Council or individual member states take action against Russia for allegedly violating the 2017 sanctions on North Korean workers.
- Any further reports of North Korean workers being placed at sites linked to Russia's military-industrial complex.
- The trajectory of North Korean visas issued by Russia in 2026, as a gauge of whether the reported practice is expanding.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedA report alleges that North Koreans are being recruited into forced labour in Russia.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “North Korean workers are being recruited into forced labour in Russia by a broker network using bogus student enrolments, according to a months-long investigation by an international law foundation.”
- SupportedGlobal Rights Compliance says a broker network uses bogus student enrolments and student visas to skirt UN sanctions as part of a state-sponsored programme that helps fund Pyongyang’s ballistic missile development.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “The network brings North Koreans into Russia on student visas to skirt United Nations sanctions and labour law, as part of a state-sponsored work programme that helps fund Pyongyang’s ballistic missile development, according to the Global Rights Compliance report released on Thursday.”
- SupportedZhukov said workers were enrolled in colleges they did not attend “to avoid the application of labour law”.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “In conversations with Global Rights Compliance investigators posing as prospective employers, Sokolov’s operations director, Ruslan Zhukov, said North Korean workers were enrolled in colleges they did not attend “to avoid the application of labour law”, the law foundation said.”
- SupportedZhukov described workers as required to work 12 hours a day, six days a week.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Zhukov also described the workers being required to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, according to the report.”
- SupportedKNDR.su, operated by Vladimir Sokolov, markets workers to employers in agriculture, construction, industry and IT and charges 100,000–150,000 roubles per placement.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Operated by Russian businessman Vladimir Sokolov, labour-brokering platform KNDR.su markets North Korean workers to prospective Russian employers in agriculture, construction, industry and IT, charging a commission of 100,000-150,000 roubles ($1,240-$1,860) per placement, according to the Netherlands-based nonprofit.”
- SupportedA 2017 UN Security Council resolution prohibits member states from hosting North Korean workers to deprive Pyongyang of funds for its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “UN member states are prohibited from hosting North Korean workers under a 2017 UN Security Council resolution intended to deprive Pyongyang of funds for its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.”
- SupportedAn 11-country sanctions monitoring team estimated that 35,600–101,280 North Korean workers were overseas in 2025, generating $450m–$800m for Pyongyang.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Despite UN sanctions, between 35,600 and 101,280 North Korean workers were based overseas in 2025, generating an estimated $450m-$800m for Pyongyang, according to an 11-country team that monitors sanctions enforcement.”
- SupportedRussia granted more than 36,000 visas to North Koreans in 2025, four times the previous year’s number, almost all officially for educational purposes.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Russia granted more than 36,000 visas to North Koreans in 2025, a fourfold increase from the previous year, almost all of which were officially for educational purposes.”
- SupportedGlobal Rights Compliance said the network helped support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, with Sokolov publicising at least two sites linked to Moscow’s military-industrial complex.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Global Rights Compliance said the network also helped support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, with Sokolov publicising at least two work sites with links to Moscow’s military-industrial complex.”
- SupportedSokolov and Zhukov did not respond to requests for comment sent to Black Horse and KNDR.su.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Sokolov and Zhukov did not respond to requests for comment sent to Sokolov’s holding company, Black Horse, and KNDR.su.”
- Partly supportedThe story attributes Zhukov’s denial of the allegations to the report.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Global Rights Compliance said Zhukov denied the report’s allegations, calling them “false, fabricated, and categorically rejected in their entirety”.”
- SupportedStrangways said North Korean workers’ labour props up Russian industry, including sites linked to the Ukraine war, while their revenue helps fund North Korea’s military programme.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: ““North Korean workers are being sent to Russian factories through a network that serves both states at once: Their labour props up Russian industry, including sites linked to the war in Ukraine, while the revenue they generate helps fund North Korea’s military programme,” Strangways said in a statement.”