North Korean Workers Spotted at Russian Drone Hub, Researcher Says
The report says North Korean workers earn $2.50 an hour while Pyongyang keeps up to 90% of their wages.
- A joint report published October 14 by the CSIS and the Bush Institute identifies 12,000 North Koreans working at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, manufacturing Russian strike drones.
- The North Korean regime is "selling the labor of its citizens under a state-to-state arrangement," according to the report, which classifies this as "the definition of forced labor." Workers earn approximately $2.50 hourly while the regime retains up to 90% of wages.
- Workers endure 12-hour shifts with pay tied to production targets, facing "gross human rights abuses and human trafficking." Song Young-Chae, a Seoul-based human rights activist, says Pyongyang is "effectively conducting slavery of its own people and for its own profit."
- Russia and North Korea are defying United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397, which mandates worker repatriation within two years. The Alabuga facility produces Geran-2 drones based on Iranian-designed Shahed-136 models used in attacks on Ukraine.
- The report urges the State Department and the UN to investigate the complex and sanction those responsible for trafficking. It demands that "several" European companies and at least one U.S. firm operating at the site be pressured to leave.
19 Articles
19 Articles
North Korean forced laborers are assembling attack drones in factories in Alabuga, Russia, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute. According to the authors, the drones are being made by Russian teenagers, foreign workers from poor countries, and North Korean citizens, who are victims of human trafficking.
North Korea Pockets 90% Of Workers' Wages At Russian Drone Factory In What Report Calls Modern Slavery
As many as 12,000 North Korean workers at a Russian drone facility are being subjected to gross human rights abuses and human trafficking, a new report has found. The findings were published jointly by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Dallas-based George W. Bush Institute, examining the Yelabuga drone plant in […]
Up to 12,000 North Koreans working in a Russian drone factory are victims of “serious human rights violations and human trafficking,” almost as slaves, according to a report published on October 14, 2026 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute. In the ... Continue reading “Report ensures that up to 12,000 North Koreans work as slaves in a Russian drone factory”
North Korea Sends 12,000 Workers to Russia to Build Shahed Drones
North Korea has reportedly sent 12,000 workers to Russia to help manufacture Shahed-type attack drones at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, expanding Pyongyang’s involvement in Russia’s military production supporting its war against Ukraine.
Pyongyang seeks to acquire practical knowledge of advanced weapons systems
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- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources lean Right
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