Hundreds of North Korean women have been discovered working illegally in Russia’s e-commerce industry, earning foreign currency through unauthorized labor.
Russian media RTVI on April 15 reported on a video showing individuals, presumed to be North Korean women, lined up and moving inside a warehouse of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Moscow. The video, which first appeared in a group chat among Wildberries employees, was later obtained by media outlets.
Founded by a Russian entrepreneur of Korean descent, Wildberries is the largest e-commerce company in Russia. In the video, individuals suspected to be North Korean workers are seen wearing purple Wildberries uniforms.
In response to the allegations, Wildberries said, “We are conducting a pilot project to hire foreign workers, and based on its results, we will decide whether to expand the program.” This acknowledgment confirms that the individuals seen in the video were employed on a temporary basis. However, when asked whether these foreign workers were from North Korea, Wildberries neither confirmed nor denied the claim, avoiding a direct answer.
Alongside RTVI, Russian independent media outlet The Moscow Times also obtained and reported on the video, revealing that hundreds of North Korean workers are likely employed by Wildberries.
North Korea has been strengthening ties with Russia, not only in the military field—by sending 14,000 troops to support Russia in the war against Ukraine—but also expanding economic exchanges. Diplomatic sources point out that the tightening of relations between North Korea and Russia, particularly in Ukraine, has rendered UN sanctions on North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction development ineffective.
In 2017, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2375, which prohibits member states from hiring North Korean workers.
In December 2019, the Security Council also passed a resolution requiring the repatriation of all North Korean workers by the end of the year. However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry argued in early 2020 that restrictions on transportation made it difficult to comply with this resolution and continued to hire North Korean laborers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also criticized the sanctions last June, saying, “Restricting the right to migrate means families in difficult situations lose the opportunity to earn money and feed their children.”
Following President Putin’s statement, it was confirmed that North Korean soldiers were sent to the Ukraine war to support Russian forces.
Recently, workers with a distinctive North Korean accent were spotted working at a construction site in Russia’s Vladivostok.
The National Intelligence Service revealed last year that North Korea had sent thousands of workers to Russia using student visas.
The Moscow Times cited Russian Foreign Ministry data, reporting that a total of 9,300 visas were issued to North Koreans last year, of which 8,600 were student visas.
