Russia recruiting up to 25,000 North Koreans to assemble drones: What the data shows

Key Points:

• Between 15,000 and 30,000 North Korean workers were present in Russia at the end of 2025, with up to 1,000 employed at strategically important facilities including defense plants and steelworks.
• Many North Korean workers are employed in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, assembling Russian versions of Iran's Shahed drones used in attacks on Ukraine, often registered as "students" to evade UN sanctions.
• Russia has issued over 36,400 visas to North Korean citizens in 2025, mostly student visas, enabling a systemic scheme that circumvents sanctions and allows Pyongyang to earn millions from the labor, which is largely confiscated to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
• North Korean workers live under harsh, controlled conditions with restricted movement and no contact with Russians, described by human rights groups as "slavery," while their forced labor supports Russia's defense industry amid acute labor shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.
• The cooperation between Russia and North Korea boosts military capabilities on both sides, intensifies drone attacks on Ukraine, and raises international concerns over sanctions violations, human rights abuses, and the financing of North Korea's weapons programs.