China, Russia deport thousands of North Korean workers

According to reports submitted to the UN North Korean Security Council sanctions committee on Tuesday, China and Russia have sent home more than half of their North Korean workers, likely tens of thousands of people.

Russia’s report revealed that the number of North Korean workers with valid work permits decreased from 30,023 to 11,490 persons while China’s report showed that more of half of its income-earning North Korean nationals had been deported.

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China’s report also noted that it does not wish for the submission to be made public. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was faithfully and strictly implementing UN sanctions against North Korea.

Meanwhile, the US State Department previously described the North Korean workforce in Russia as slave-like labour while North Korean workers overseas were seen as a source of funding for the country’s nuclear and missile program, so banishing them cuts off a vital lifeline for the regime.

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