Moscow, severely feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine, is looking for support in Pyongyang, and Vladimir Putin is expanding the cooperation of his country with the Kim Jong Una regime. According to BBC, not only weapons, missiles and soldiers, but also construction workers are brought to Russia.
According to South Korean intelligence, the number of these employees in Russia is constantly growing. Most of them are employed in the construction sector and work in scandalous conditions, usually without protective equipment. Several workers who managed to escape from Russia told about bordering the working conditions on construction sites on construction sites.
They cannot leave the construction site, they do not have medical care. This is how Korean “slaves” work in Russia
According to refugees, work sometimes lasts from 6 am to 2 am the next day. Although at the beginning they had their free time and received exit permits, there were fewer and fewer and fewer free time. Finally, they were forbidden to leave the construction site, and each insubordination was punished with beating. “I felt like in a labor camp, a prison without bars,” one of the former workers confessed.
According to BBC, North Korean workers present in Russia live in overcrowded containers or unfinished buildings that are not sufficiently protected from frost and do not meet sanitary requirements. In addition, they do not have basic medical care, and some almost slave work led to the paralysis of the hands.
- North Korea strengthens combat readiness. Surprising exercises
What's more, employees also do not have contact with the outside world, they are also subjected to constant manipulation by Korean agents who tell them that “the rest of the world is their enemy.” Their earnings are sent to North Korea as a “loyalty fee”, and small sums (about $ 100-200 per month) allocated to personal needs are paid only after returning to the country, which is to discourage them from trying to escape.
According to data from South Korean intelligence, in 2023 over 13,000 The Koreans from the north crossed the border with Russia, most of which based on student visas – this is a way to bypass UN bans. This is 12 times more than a year ago, and in the following years this number may increase to up to 50,000. annually.
- North Korea loses pigs and chickens through heat waves. Farmers in desperation
Russian authorities officially admit that 5,000 employees from North Korea will support the reconstruction of regions previously occupied by the Ukrainian troops. “They are cheap, hard -working and do not have the courage to oppose,” emphasizes Andrea Lankov, an expert on North Korea relations with Russia, cited by the BBC.
