Report says North Korean workers in Russia help fund missiles
North Korean workers are being brokered to Russian firms as forced labor, with most of their pay going to Pyongyang's missile program, according to ABC Australia, which cites a rights group report. Only ABC Australia has reported this so far. North Korea and Russia deny breaking UN rules.
A new report says North Korean workers are being offered to Russian companies as forced labor, with most of their wages going to fund Pyongyang's missile program, according to ABC Australia.
The rights group Global Rights Compliance said its members posed as a company during a nine-month undercover probe of a Russian labor broker network, ABC Australia reports. It found brokers charge 100,000 to 150,000 roubles, about $1,765 to $2,650, for each worker placed.
The report says workers labor up to 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week. Up to 90 percent of overseas workers' wages are believed to go to the North Korean state, ABC Australia reports. Lead investigator Dylan Carter said the workers are treated as "commodities."
The group says workers enter Russia on student visas and are placed in companies instead of classes. That avoids work permits banned under UN sanctions. Some were found at an aluminum plant tied to defense suppliers and at a factory making rations for Russian troops, the report says.
The network is allegedly run by Moscow businessman Vladimir Sokolov, whom the European Union sanctioned this month. The authors said he did not respond. Another businessman linked to the network said the North Koreans are students in training and called the claims "unsubstantiated."
A UN Security Council resolution requires countries to send North Korean workers home. North Korea denies using forced labor, and Russia denies breaking UN rules. A sanctions monitoring group found overseas workers raised $450 million to $800 million for North Korea last year.
What we know: A rights group alleges a Russian broker network places North Korean workers whose wages help fund missiles.
What we don't: Only ABC Australia has reported this so far. NewsHabit hasn't seen independent confirmation.
Where outlets agree This is one outlet's report, from ABC Australia, on a Global Rights Compliance investigation into North Korean labor in Russia.
Where they differ ABC Australia reports the forced labor findings, while a businessman linked to the network denies it and North Korea and Russia deny breaking UN rules.