Report reveals 12,000 North Korean workers exploited at Russian drone factory

A joint report released on Oct. 14 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the George W. Bush Institute says as many as 12,000 North Korean laborers are working at a Russian drone factory in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, under conditions the authors describe as “gross human rights abuses and human trafficking.” The study claims the workers are effectively enslaved, with the North Korean regime keeping up to 90 percent of their wages and restricting their freedom to leave.

The report links the Yelabuga plant to a broader network of four countries that are expanding Russia’s unmanned‑aerial‑vehicle production for the war in Ukraine. China supplies most of the dual‑use components, such as batteries and navigation systems, while Iran provides Shahed drones that have been reverse‑engineered into the Russian‑made Geran series. Moscow receives more than 5,500 drones a month, boosting its strike capability. The arrangement violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397, adopted in 2017, which obliges UN members to repatriate North Korean workers within two years. The study argues that the state‑to‑state deal between Pyongyang and Moscow meets the UN definition of forced labor.

Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at Troy University’s Seoul campus, said the geographic proximity of the four nations makes international interdiction “practically impossible.” Human‑rights activist Song Young‑Chae added that the Yelabuga case is just one example of a wider pattern that includes North Korean construction crews in occupied Ukrainian territories and thousands of conscripted soldiers fighting on the front lines. “Life in North Korea is not easy, but these people are being sent to Russia as slaves, with no freedom, and they are only allowed to keep a fraction of the money they earn,” Song told DW.

The findings raise urgent questions about how the international community can enforce the UN resolution and stop the “trade in humanity” that fuels Moscow’s drone war. With Russia and China both permanent members of the Security Council and seemingly indifferent to the sanctions, experts warn that without a coordinated diplomatic or legal response the exploitation could continue unchecked, further entrenching the conflict in Ukraine and deepening the humanitarian crisis for the North Korean workers involved.