Russia employs North Koreans to build drones for Ukraine war: report

Russia is increasingly mobilising North Korean workers to build military drones for use against Ukraine in defiance of international sanctions, giving Pyongyang a key source of revenue to fund its unlawful weapons programmes, according to a report by the US and its allies.

Up to 25,000 North Koreans were believed to be working in Russia’s drone industry, including at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, where unmanned aerial vehicles were assembled, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team said in a report released on Wednesday.

The report said North Koreans abroad – largely IT workers – were estimated to have earned up to US$800 million for the Kim Jong-un regime last year, providing funds for its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The development underscores how the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea are expanding beyond weapons and troops into labour and industrial production.