Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Group
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About 25,000 North Koreans work at Russian drone plants, earning Pyongyang $800 million in 2025
A UN-linked monitoring report published by Bloomberg says roughly 25,000 North Korean citizens are employed at Russian drone production facilities, including the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, earning the DPRK regime around $800 million in 2025. Workers are brought in on student visas to bypass sanctions, are compensated a fraction of what they earn, and are subject to tight control and family reprisals if they try to defect.