North Koreans being recruited into forced labour in Russia, report says
Russian broker network recruiting North Korean labourers using student visas, Global Rights Compliance report says.
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.
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.
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.
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.