Cockroaches, surveillance and 16-hour days: The life of a North Korean worker in Russia

Workers at Russian construction sites are among more than 100,000 North Koreans being exploited worldwide as part of a state-sponsored labor program, researchers say in a new report.

For North Koreans, being sent to work abroad is often seen as a precious chance to earn money for their families while getting a rare glimpse of the outside world. But workers arriving in Russia find themselves working long hours in unbearable conditions, only to owe more than they make, researchers say in a new report.

They are among more than 100,000 North Korean nationals being exploited as part of a state-sponsored labor program that operates in 40 countries, according to Global Rights Compliance, an international human rights foundation based in The Hague.

Each year the North Korean program is estimated to generate $500 million in foreign currency revenue for the reclusive, nuclear-armed state, with workers spread across construction, textiles, medicine, information technology, food service and other industries. The practice also provides an economic boost for Russia, which faces a critical labor shortage more than four years into its war with Ukraine.

“Because of the ever-growing close ties between Russia and North Korea, it is concerning that this amount of money going into the regime is funding [North Korea’s] military ambition,” Yeji Kim, North Korea adviser at Global Rights Compliance, told NBC News on Tuesday.

North Korea officially denies the existence of forced labor, though it has been widely documented by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department and others.