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The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) holds a briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, U.S., on July 17 last year. / Provided by MSMT

North Korea reportedly earned up to 1.07 trillion won in foreign currency last year through some 100,000 overseas workers, circumventing UN sanctions against the country. A substantial portion of the earnings was found to have been used by North Korean trading firms based in China and Russia to procure military supplies.

In a report titled "North Korea's Overseas Worker Dispatch" released on the 16th, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) stated that between 35,600 and 101,280 North Korean workers resided in at least 17 countries, generating between 600 billion and 1.07 trillion won in earnings as of last year. These workers were mobilized to earn foreign currency across various sectors, including construction, light manufacturing, information technology (IT), healthcare, and restaurants.

Part of the proceeds was remitted back to North Korea, with financial institutions subject to UN sanctions, such as Foreign Trade Bank and Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, utilized for fund management. Instances of cash transport via North Korean diplomatic vehicles, diplomatic pouches, and personnel on overseas business trips were also identified.

China hosted the largest number of dispatched North Korean workers. Between 20,000 and 70,000 workers were estimated to be staying mainly in the North Korea-China border areas, including Liaoning and Jilin provinces. Although approximately 10,000 to 20,000 returned home between 2023 and 2025, the figure rebounded as the issuance of short-term training and education visas increased starting early last year, with about 10,000 newly dispatched between last year and January this year.

To evade Chinese crackdowns, North Korea was found to have bypassed sanctions by dispatching IT personnel disguised as general laborers or by relocating base operations for select personnel to Sinuiju.

Russia was cited as the second-largest recipient of North Korean workers following China. The number of workers has grown rapidly since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with personnel engaged in construction, processing on toll, and agriculture primarily across the Far East, including Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, and Sakhalin. Some were also dispatched to Russian drone factories and core facilities, with a considerable number circumventing sanctions by using student visas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the report is intended to "draw international attention to North Korea's foreign currency-earning activities through the overseas dispatch of workers and raise vigilance regarding UN sanctions violations stemming from the employment of North Korean laborers."

Meanwhile, the MSMT is a multilateral monitoring mechanism launched in October 2024 to replace the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea Panel of Experts, whose mandate extension fell through in April 2024 due to a Russian veto. Eleven nations participate in the team, including South Korea, the U.S., Japan, the UK, France, and Germany.

                                                                                                            Mok Yong-jae