Russia may be in violation of United Nations sanctions by continuing to hire North Korean workers for labor jobs within its borders, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Russia has given more than 10,000 North Koreans work permits since the U.N. said last September governments were no longer allowed to do so. That figure includes at least 700 new permits issued in 2018.
The Journal dug into the numbers and discovered that the vast majority of money Russian companies pay per worker — an estimated 100,000 rubles ($1,600) a month — is going directly to the North Korean government.
"The Kim regime continues to dispatch citizens abroad," the security nonprofit C4ADS said in a new report, according to the Journal. "In doing so, it continues to flout international sanctions to generate foreign currency."
The North Korean government nets somewhere around $2 billion each year through this work program, the Journal noted.
The North Korean workers live in specially constructed housing units and work long days, starting at 7 a.m. and sometimes staying on the job until midnight with just two short breaks.
Under the UN rules, the Journal reported, all North Korean workers must be sent back to their home country one year after the visas we issued. All North Korean workers are supposed to be returned to their home country by December 2019 under the UN sanctions. The Russian companies continue to dole out new visas, a violation of the sanctions.
A CNN report in January claimed that roughly 50,000 North Koreans worked in Russia, which shares a small section of border with the reclusive nation along the Tumen River where it empties into the Sea of Japan. More than 80 percent of the money they earn automatically goes to North Korea.
The report comes as President Donald Trump's administration is negotiation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime regarding the latter's nuclear weapons program. There appears to be progress, but other reports suggest that North Korea is still building missiles — and it continues to make nuclear material.
It's unclear whether the UN will pursue action against Russia over its use of North Korean laborers.
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