News & Insights

Tag: Migrant Workers

  • North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    North Korean Restaurants Closing in China Due to Few Customers and High Costs

    Over half of these establishments in Liaoning province have closed their doors.

    According to Daily NK, several North Korean restaurants in Dandong recently stopped operations, including Ryugyong Sikdang and Taebosan. Their staff and managers have returned to North Korea.

    Unable to cover rent costs, North Korean trading companies and entities that managed these restaurants have largely shut down operations, transferring management rights to Chinese businesspeople. Some continue as North Korean-style restaurants, now employing Chinese staff.

    These restaurants have lost Chinese customers due to their higher prices compared to ordinary eateries.

    Link to Article

  • Hundreds of N. Korean workers hired by Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries

    Hundreds of N. Korean workers hired by Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries

    Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, is thought to have hired hundreds of North Korean workers, Russian media outlets reported recently, despite the wide range of economic sanctions imposed by the international community.

    “Hundreds” of North Korean nationals have been hired by the company, the English- and Russian-language news outlet the Moscow Times reported, citing a report by media platform RTVI. Addressing the allegations, Wildberries acknowledged what it called a pilot project to hire foreign workers but did not elaborate on their nationalities.

    The claims stem from two videos of workers alleged to be North Koreans wearing Wildberries work apparel, which reportedly appeared in a group chat for employees of the retailer’s warehouse in the city of Elektrostal in Moscow Oblast, western Russia.

    Link to Article

    Link to Video

    Map Elektrostal, Moscow

  • Russia Turning to North Korea to Help with Labor Shortage

    Russia Turning to North Korea to Help with Labor Shortage

    Russia has been suffering from significant labor shortages in its civilian and defense industrial sectors since the start of its war with Ukraine. North Korean has sent several thousand workers to work in civilian sectors, but it is marginal and will not significantly alleviate Russia’s labor shortages. Russia reportedly has an estimated labor shortage of 1.5 million workers as of December 2024. We can expect many thousand more North Koreans to arrive and work in Russia.

    Link to Source

    In October last year, the NIS had said in a briefing that about 4,000 North Korean workers were already believed to be in Russia, with each worker being paid a monthly stipend of approximately $800.

    Russia may be recruiting North Korean workers to fill gaps in the construction industry created by its prolonged aggression against Ukraine, according to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Wi Sung-lac, who was Seoul’s ambassador to Russia.

    “I think North Korean workers may have been recruited to make up for the labor shortages after many were drafted for the war,” Wi told The Korea Herald on Sunday.

    Link to Source