Recent accounts reveal a grim reality for North Korean labourers dispatched to Russia for construction and other jobs, raising urgent concerns about human rights violations and international sanctions.
**North Korean Workers Face Brutal Conditions in Russia Amid Labour Crisis**
**North Korean Workers Face Brutal Conditions in Russia Amid Labour Crisis**
Thousands of North Koreans are reportedly enduring harsh, slave-like working environments in Russia as the country seeks to address labour shortages linked to the war in Ukraine.
According to recent reports from the BBC, a staggering number of North Koreans, estimated at over 50,000, are being sent to Russia to alleviate labour shortages intensified by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. As Russia loses men to conflict and conscription, they increasingly rely on North Korean labourers, who are subjected to deplorable working conditions. Interviews with six former workers who managed to escape Russia paint a harrowing portrait of life on the ground.
All interviewees, who spoke under pseudonyms, described relentless working hours exceeding 18 per day, often with minimal breaks and unsafe living conditions. One worker, Jin, recounted being escorted from the airport to a construction site by a North Korean security agent, under strict orders to avoid any conversation or interaction with outsiders. "The outside world is our enemy," the agent warned.
The accounts reveal a stark reality; workers started their days at 6 a.m., working until 2 a.m., with nearly no days off. "Waking up was terrifying, realising you had to repeat the same day over again," said Tae, who successfully escaped last year. The physical toll was evident, with workers collapsing from exhaustion and suffering injuries without receiving appropriate medical attention.
Experts highlight that the North Korean regime carefully monitors its workers to prevent them from fleeing. They live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, making it nearly impossible to escape. Nam, another labourer, suffered severe facial injuries from a fall but was denied medical care. The regime benefits from these overseas contracts, collecting significant revenue from labourers’ wages, which are only partially released to workers upon their return.
Since the imposition of UN sanctions in 2019 aimed at curtailing North Korea’s nuclear program, most North Korean labourers had been repatriated. However, reports indicate a recent influx, with over 10,000 arriving in Russia last year alone, suggesting a significant breach of these sanctions.
Experts like Andrei Lankov from Kookmin University assert that North Korean workers are increasingly seen as ideal labourers due to their lower costs and perceived reliability, despite the moral and legal implications. In addition to construction jobs, these workers have also been employed in various sectors, including IT and textiles, in direct circumvention of international restrictions.
The situation for North Korean labourers is exacerbated by increasing crackdowns. Authorities are shining more scrutiny on the workers, limiting their freedoms and increasing ideological training sessions to reaffirm their loyalty to Kim Jong Un. Reports indicate that the already minimal opportunities for workers to leave their construction sites have nearly vanished.
Human rights activists have noted a concerning decrease in successful escapes from Russia, plummeting from around 20 annually to just 10 in recent years. This trend reflects the tightening grip of the North Korean regime on its overseas workers. With the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating collaboration between Russia and North Korea, experts predict a long-term legacy of human rights abuses tied to this partnership will persist well beyond the conflict.
