The latest news on Russia and North Korea. According to BBC News, thousands of North Koreans are being sent to Russia to work in what are regarded as "slave-like conditions", all in a bid to fill the growing labour shortage that has come about due to the ongoing war with Ukraine.
The report states that Moscow is relying on North Korean labourers to fill a massive gap that has come about due to countless Russian men being either killed in the conflict or still engaged with the war. The information itself comes from South Korean intelligence, which has since been backed up by North Korean workers that spoke with BBC who have managed to flee Russia since the beginning of the war.
In total, BBC News interviewed six workers who each described the same conditions, which included waking up at 6AM and being forced to build high-rise apartments until 2AM the following morning, with only two days off the entire year. Anyone who was found sleeping during work hours was said to be beaten, with some even revealing that their hands would seize up in the morning and be paralysed from the last day of relentless work. It's also mentioned that the workers are chaperoned by a North Korean agent who told them not to talk or look at anything as "the outside world is our enemy".
The number of North Koreans working in Russia seems to have significantly increased as of late, with a 12-fold increase up to 13,000 more workers sent to the country in 2024 alone. Most are said to travel to the country under a student visa to circumvent UN bans.