‘Worse than cattle’: North Korea workers’ horror in Russia

A North Korean labourer living in Russia says his life is “worse than cattle.” He sleeps in a cramped shipping container, works brutal shifts, and says he can barely remember the last time he had a proper shower.

The grim account comes from Guemhyuk Kim*, a 29-year-old from Pyongyang sent abroad under Kim Jong Un’s overseas labour programme. Instead of opportunity, he says he found exhaustion, squalor and fear.

Kim now lives in St Petersburg, Russia, after arriving in 2024 to work on the construction of a stadium. He shares a tiny room inside a shipping container with around 20 other North Korean workers. The container sits just 200 metres from the construction site where they toil daily.

“There’s no shower facility so we just clean off our face with a tap,” Kim said. He says the workers are “chronically sleep-deprived from long shifts and brutal living conditions.” The cramped containers are infested with cockroaches and bedbugs. Showers are so rare that some workers get access only once or twice a year, according to a new investigation.

The probe by the Hague-based international law foundation Global Rights Compliance paints a disturbing picture of forced labour. It estimates at least 100,000 North Koreans are sent abroad under the regime’s labour programme.

Many are dispatched to construction sites, factories and farms across China, Russia and several African nations. Experts say the programme funnels foreign currency back to Pyongyang.

Despite a United Nations ban on accepting North Korean labourers, reports suggest the scheme is expanding in Russian cities.

A 2017 UN Security Council resolution demanded that all countries send North Korean workers home by 22 December 2019. The measure was intended to stop Pyongyang from earning foreign currency to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

But the investigation suggests the system continues to operate.

At least 21 North Korean workers confirmed life-threatening conditions to investigators. They described gruelling shifts and strict quotas imposed by their government. Workers say they are forced to work up to 16 hours a day. Their shifts begin as early as 7am and can continue until midnight.

They do this for 364 days a year. In return, they reportedly receive just $10 — about £7.40 — per month.

Every worker must meet a mandatory monthly quota known as “Gukga Gyehoekbun.” The quota demands they send as much money as possible back to the North Korean state. One worker said the system dominates their daily lives. “Every afternoon, I find myself calculating whether I can meet this month’s quota,” he said.

Many had never heard of the quota before arriving abroad.

“I came out not knowing how much I would receive,” the worker said. “I just thought that if I went to Russia, I’d earn money.”

Instead, some workers say they became trapped in debt after paying bribes to middlemen to secure the jobs. These overseas roles were described to them as “coveted and prestigious.”

Reality quickly proved very different.

Workers said they endured extreme Russian winters without proper protective equipment. One labourer said he and his colleagues were forced to show up regardless of weather conditions. “He said they led lives worse than cattle,” investigators reported.

Injuries and illness are often ignored. Workers say medical problems are treated as obstacles to meeting their quotas.

One worker severely injured his arm but was reportedly told to treat the wound with salt water. After that, he returned to work immediately. “He knows that his quota needs to be met,” said Yeji Kim, an adviser on North Korea at Global Rights Compliance.

She said the system also creates pressure between workers. If someone falls behind due to illness or injury, others must work harder to cover the quota. Experts say the labour programme has also become tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia faces labour shortages caused by battlefield losses, mobilisation and workers leaving the country.

According to the investigation, Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have struck a “quid pro quo” arrangement. North Korea supplies workers while Russia reportedly provides support to Pyongyang.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has reported Russia offered technical assistance for North Korea’s spy satellite programme. It has also reportedly supplied air defence missiles and electronic warfare equipment.

The report says workers are selected based on loyalty to the regime rather than physical strength. Those with families are often chosen because relatives can face punishment if a worker defects. Fear runs through the workforce.

Workers told investigators they are forced to spy on one another. Accusations sometimes lead to physical fights between colleagues.

If workers gain access to smartphones, they secretly browse the internet. Some watch South Korean videos or films they were never allowed to see back home. Others binge content they had never encountered before, including pornography.

Those caught watching foreign content face punishment from North Korean authorities. In serious cases, they can be sent back to North Korea.

Experts warn their fate could be severe. According to Yeji Kim, workers fear being sent to political prison camps if they fail to comply with quotas or rules.

The investigation says their situation mirrors that of North Koreans reportedly sent to fight alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.

Both groups are sent abroad with little information about where they are going or what they will face.

For many workers, the fear of punishment — for themselves or their families — keeps them trapped in the system. And for Guemhyuk Kim and thousands like him, life abroad has become a harsh struggle far from home.

North Korean labourers describe ‘lives worse than cattle’ in Russia