Some North Korean workers sent to Russia are helping Ukraine war effort, report says

SEOUL, South Korea — A Russian network of brokers sponsored by Pyongyang has taken North Koreans to work in Russia in exploitative conditions and in violation of U.N. sanctions, some at factories that turn out items Moscow uses in the Ukraine war, a rights group said.

The neighbors have greatly strengthened military and political ties since pledging renewed cooperation at a 2023 summit of their leaders, while a mutual defense pact is a cornerstone of a partnership treaty signed the following year.

In its report, the Hague-based group, Global Rights Compliance (GRC), said North Korea reaps funds from the operation, taking much of the wages earned by its workers who are sent to Russia and made to stay under threat of retribution.

The group cites open-source information on the operation run by a Russian businessman, facial recognition technology to identify North Korean officials, and evidence gathered by its members posing undercover as prospective employers.

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“This investigation exposes a dangerous convergence between two states’ military ambitions,” said the group’s legal adviser, Elise Lauriot Prevost.

These were “North Korea’s use of overseas forced labor to finance its weapons program, and Russia’s growing reliance on…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business