N. Korean workers hired by Russian company: report

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.

Earlier reports said workers thought to be from the communist state were seen working at a construction site in Vladivostok. The footage was released by the city authorities and said "Korean workers here legally," not referring to the workers specifically as North Koreans.

UN Security Council Resolution 2375, adopted in 2017, bans North Korean nationals from working in other countries. Russia is party to the sanctions as a permanent member of the council, but the Moscow leadership has made comments seen as critical of the measures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the North Korea sanctions in his 2024 meeting with the international media, where he said, "What kind of threat do they (labor migrants) pose, and to whom?" and called related concerns "rather strange."

Moscow and Pyongyang have been observed working more closely together in recent years, particularly with North Korea's military involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said in February that North Korea is thought to have deployed 1,000 additional troops to the conflict, in addition to the 11,000 it reportedly dispatched in October.

Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially admitted to the deployments, and it is not clear how close the Moscow leadership is to the world's most reclusive country.

Putin did meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in June of last year, and signed a new mutual defense pact.

Most of the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea are punitive actions in response to its continued nuclear and ballistic missile programs.