Russian lawmakers endorse 'reliable' North Korean labor as more workers reportedly arrive
Published: 02 Jul. 2025, 11:39
![The Pyongyang to Moscow passenger train arrives at Yaroslavsky railway station. [TASS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/02/7227a423-df02-4486-83ad-1c03e35ed25c.jpg)
The Pyongyang to Moscow passenger train arrives at Yaroslavsky railway station. [TASS/YONHAP]
As reports mount of a large-scale dispatch of North Korean workers to Russia, several Russian lawmakers have publicly welcomed the move, even going so far as to call North Korean laborers more “reliable” than Russia’s existing migrant work force.
Yaroslav Nilov, chair of the Russian State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, told Russian media outlet News.ru on Monday that employers view workers from North Korea and Afghanistan more favorably than those from Central Asia, who currently make up the bulk of Russia’s foreign labor force.
Nilov said the key difference lies in legal status. Central Asian migrants typically work in Russia on labor permits, which allow them to easily leave or change jobs. In contrast, North Koreans are expected to enter on stricter labor visas.
“A visa is much more difficult to obtain,” Nilov said. “Those working with permits can easily quit and switch jobs. That’s what employers have told me.”
He added that hiring foreign nationals with labor visas is more advantageous for filling positions avoided by Russian nationals and for securing a stable work force.
Leonid Kalashnikov, a deputy for the Communist Party in the State Duma, said that a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by Russia and North Korea last year provides the legal basis for bringing in North Korean workers.
Mikhail Matveyev, also a member of the Duma, described Russia’s decision to accept laborers from North Korea and Afghanistan as a political move to maintain friendly relations with those countries.
On June 19, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing diplomatic sources in Russia and the West, that North Korea was considering dispatching 25,000 workers to a drone factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. In exchange, the workers would receive training in drone piloting.
Earlier, on June 17, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu announced after meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang that North Korea would send a total of 6,000 personnel, including military engineers and construction troops, to aid in the restoration of Russia’s Kursk region.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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