Russia is preparing to bring in approximately 12,000 workers from North Korea to support production of its Shahed-type long-range drones at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan.
According to multiple statements from Ukraine’s military intelligence services (HUR/DIU), the workers are expected to arrive by the end of 2025, with some reports indicating the deployment could be completed by the end of 2024.
The Alabuga zone hosts factories manufacturing Russia’s domestic versions of Iranian-designed Shahed/Geran loitering munitions, which Moscow has used extensively in deep-strike attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
Negotiations with sanctioned North Korean arms entities
Ukraine’s intelligence services report that Russian officials met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late October with representatives of Jihyang Technology Trade Company, the North Korean firm tasked with recruiting and selecting the workers.
“Alabuga is where long-range drones of the Shahed/Geran type are manufactured, which the Russian army uses to carry out terrorist strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. To discuss the details of labour procurement, at the end of October, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a meeting between local officials and representatives of the North Korean company Jihyang Technology Trade Company, responsible for recruiting Korean workers,” the report shared on Telegram read.
Jihyang, also known as Green Pine Associated Corporation, is a sanctioned company identified by the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union for its role in North Korea’s weapons exports and its links to the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID).
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DIU stated that the workers are being promised approximately US$2.50 per hour, with shifts of at least 12 hours. The agency described the deployment as part of deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
“Such measures indicate deepening strategic cooperation between the two dictatorships in order to continue their aggressive war against Ukraine,” the intelligence service emphasised.
Putin and Kim meet in China
This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for bilateral talks in Beijing, China.
The two leaders met formally in September 2025 at the Diaoyutai State Guest House after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital, which marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Kim and Putin traveled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, according to the Kremlin.
Following a bilateral meeting between Russian and North Korean delegations, the two leaders held a one-on-one meeting with Putin, who invited Kim to visit Russia again, a move that follows the North Korean leader’s last visit to the country in 2023.
Speaking in front of journalists as the talks began, the Russian leader praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Moscow’s troops to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.
In his opening remarks, Kim said that cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has “significantly strengthened” since the two countries signed a strategic partnership pact in June 2024 during a summit in the North Korean capital.
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Although he did not specifically mention the war, Kim stressed that “if there’s anything I can do for you and the people of Russia, if there is more that needs to be done, I will consider it as a fraternal duty, an obligation that we surely need to bear, and will be prepared to do everything possible to help.”
According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last year. In addition, it has sent large quantities of military equipment, including ballistic missiles and artillery, to help fuel Putin’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.
Growing reliance on North Korean labor
Russia has faced a significant labor shortage in its weapons industry, including drone assembly lines. Ukraine’s intelligence reports that Moscow is increasingly relying on manpower from abroad, including through coercive recruitment and alleged trafficking of workers from Central Asia and Africa, including reports from Botswana and Kenya. Interpol has opened investigations into related cases.
Even before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia frequently used imported labor—referred to domestically as “gostarbeitery”—for physically demanding work, especially in the Far East, where demographic decline and substance abuse have reduced the available workforce.
North Korean laborers have historically been among the most relied upon, often working under harsh conditions and with wages largely captured by the DPRK government. A 2017 U.S. State Department report described their treatment in Russia’s logging camps as “slave-like.” At the time, an estimated 20,000 North Koreans entered Russia annually for such work.
The flow of North Korean workers to Russia has been on the rise since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. A Ukrainian general estimated that about 20,000 North Koreans were already working in Russian weapons factories at the start of October.
North Korea is also reported to have deployed military personnel to support Russian operations. In October, Ukraine’s General Staff said North Korean units were assisting Russia in Sumy Oblast, including working as UAV operators. Earlier in the year, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov of Ukrainian military intelligence stated that Pyongyang planned to transfer 50–100 units of equipment and approximately 6,000 servicemen to Russia.
Reports of large-scale North Korean labor transfers to Russia’s drone sector surfaced earlier in June, when Japan’s NHK broadcaster said Moscow was preparing to bring in up to 25,000 DPRK workers to strengthen production of Geran drones in Tatarstan.
Kyiv has also claimed that Russia is helping North Korea set up local production of Geran munitions and supplying training for DPRK drone operators.
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