ⓒ Japanese version of JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo2023.01.25 07:22
Several sources reported on the 24th that nine workers sent to Russia by North Korea to earn foreign currency were missing in a group between November and December last year. As the international community has narrowed the net of sanctions against North Korea, there is a fear that North Korean workers who earn foreign money will be sent to the reconstruction project of the Donbass region of the pro-Russian region. where the war is happening and the lack of work has made life difficult. It is said that concerns are spreading and have decided to defect.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the nine men entered South Korea safely and were investigated by the National Intelligence Service (NIS). A source said, “Two of the nine reported their intention to defect to civil society in South Korea in September last year, and they came to South Korea in early November last year with their help.”
The source said, “These two North Korean workers were receiving personal protection in a safe house somewhere in Russia, but the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Moscow applied for a temporary protection system. After accepted, I applied for a temporary protection system). I started moving around. I arrived in Moscow around September last year and proceeded with the procedures for entering South Korea.”
Most of the workers sent to Russia from North Korea worked in logging and construction sites. Some of the North Korean workers who entered the country this time were revealed to be current military personnel. Another source said, “The workers in question were serving soldiers who were sent to earn foreign currency during their compulsory service period.” he said.
Over the past three years, the border between China and North Korea has been closed due to the new coronavirus, and travel from North Korea to third countries has been restricted. Under these circumstances, North Korean workers sent abroad emerge as a major escape route. Another source said, “A significant number of North Korean defectors who entered the country recently are dispatched workers.
Sending workers abroad was one of the main means of earning foreign currency under Kim Jong-un’s regime. North Korea had sent around 100,000 workers abroad before the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea. Experts at home and abroad estimate that their annual income has reached about $500 million.
In 2017, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2397, which prohibited North Korea from sending workers abroad. The resolution required all UN member states to return all North Korean workers in their countries by December 22, 2019. However, in the case of Russian logging workers, North Korean authorities blocked the border in January the following year to block the new coronavirus, making it impossible for them to return home.
According to local sources, the sanctions of the international community have come full force, and workers who lived in groups while working on large-scale construction sites in Russia were scattered around the city and working on construction sites and small farms. , he managed to maintain his livelihood.
Especially among the North Korean workers who were stuck in Russia, there is growing concern that they could be sent to the Donbass region, left in ruins by the Ukrainian War, and mobilized for reconstruction projects. This is the story of the people who he participated in private organizations.
In connection with this, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Aleksandr Matsegora said in an interview with Russian media in July last year, “The possibilities for cooperation between North Korea and the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Donbass region of Ukraine are very skilled, hardworking, and willing to work under difficult conditions, North Korean workers can be an important supporting force in restoring destroyed infrastructure and facilities (in Donetsk and Lugansk).”
Some North Korean experts have speculated that North Korea could avoid UN sanctions by sending its own workers to the Donbass region. The Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, which promote independence from Ukraine, are not members of the United Nations.
An official from a private organization who asked to remain anonymous said, “In the case of North Korean defectors who entered the country recently, it is difficult to provide support due to the passive attitude of the Moon Jae-in administration and the corona crisis in all country It took a relatively long time because we came up with various plans for a safe escape.”
Dong-wan Kang, a professor at Dong-A University and the author of a report on North Korean workers sent to Russia, said, “I met a department in Russia,” he said, “The North Korean workers were sent to China, Russia, and other places are various. I understand that they make their intentions to escape from North Korea clear by means. There is also the aspect that this mass exodus case will be valuable information for North Korean compatriots who do not know how they can receive help. ” speak.
