Labor Brokerage: Student Visas Hide North Korean Workers in Russia

International law experts have identified a specific mechanism through which North Korean labor continues to flow into the Russian economy despite United Nations restrictions. The findings rely on a months-long inquiry conducted by the Netherlands-based nonprofit Global Rights Compliance, which examined the operations of a Russian labor-brokering platform.

The report states that the network, operated by businessman Vladimir Sokolov through the website KNDR.su, charges Russian employers between 100,000 and 150,000 roubles for each placement. These fees equate to approximately $1,240 to $1,860. The platform markets North Korean workers for roles in agriculture, construction, industrial manufacturing, and information technology.

Investigators posed as prospective employers to interview Ruslan Zhukov, the operations director for Sokolov’s company. Zhukov stated that workers are enrolled in colleges they do not attend to avoid the application of labor law. He also described a work schedule requiring these employees to labor for 12 hours a day, six days a week.

This arrangement allows the workers to enter Russia on student visas, a method that skims past the 2017 UN Security Council resolution prohibiting member states from hosting North Korean laborers. The resolution aims to limit Pyongyang’s access to funds for its nuclear and missile development. In 2025, Russia issued more than 36,000 such visas, a fourfold increase from the prior year, with nearly all cited for educational purposes.

An 11-country sanctions monitoring team estimated that between 35,600 and 101,280 North Korean workers were based overseas in 2025. Their labor generated an estimated $450 million to $800 million for the North Korean government. Global Rights Compliance noted that the broker network also supports Russia’s military efforts in Ukraine, with Sokolov publicizing at least two work sites linked to Moscow’s military-industrial complex.

Lara Strangways, head of business and human rights at the foundation, stated that the network serves both nations simultaneously. She explained that the labor props up Russian industry while the revenue helps fund North Korea’s military program. Strangways described the situation as a clear exploitation of workers within a cross-border system.

Zhukov denied the allegations in a statement attributed to him, calling them false and fabricated. He stated that the matter concerns exclusively students sent to Russia under an intergovernmental agreement for educational and industrial practical training. Sokolov and Zhukov did not respond directly to requests for comment sent to Sokolov’s holding company, Black Horse. The two nations ratified a mutual defense treaty in 2024 and have increased cooperation since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.