Russia plans to bring up to 12,000 North Korean workers to the special economic zone “Alabuga” in Tatarstan by the end of 2025. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Source: Gazeta.UA
It is in “Alabuga” that production of long-range Shahed/“Geran” attack drones is being carried out — drones that the Russian army actively uses to strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, at the end of October Russian officials held a meeting with representatives of the North Korean company Jihyang Technology Trade Company, which specializes in labor recruitment.
North Korean workers in Russia are being promised:
- approximately $2.5 per hour pay,
- a minimum of 12-hour shifts.
Ukrainian intelligence emphasizes that bringing in labor from North Korea is yet another sign of the deepening strategic alliance between the two dictatorial regimes, aimed directly at prolonging the aggressive war against Ukraine.