North Korean workers subjected to 'slave-like' conditions in Russia
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.2 • 7.8K Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
South Korean intelligence officials have told the BBC that 10,000 North Korean workers were sent to Russia in 2024. They were used to fill a labour shortage created by the invasion of Ukraine. Six North Korean workers who fled Russia say they were subjected to abysmal working conditions, with most of the money they earned sent straight back to the North Korean regime. Also: The US and China agree a further postponement of hefty trade tariffs on each other's goods, and could holiday postcards make a comeback?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:04.4 | Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. |
| 0:06.1 | We're recording this at 13 hours GMT on Tuesday the 12th of August. |
| 0:10.6 | North Korean sent to Russia to fill labor shortages caused by the war in Ukraine |
| 0:14.8 | have described slave-like conditions. |
| 0:18.0 | The US and China have agreed another 90-day pause in their tariff war, |
| 0:22.4 | and Pakistan says it's killed 50 militants along the border with Afghanistan. |
| 0:28.4 | Also in the podcast, why are unemployed young adults in China pretending to have jobs? |
| 0:35.1 | And... |
| 0:35.6 | It was described as a massive and unpredictable invasion. And effectively |
| 0:39.9 | systems immediately started to signal a very serious fault. How a swarm of jellyfish managed to |
| 0:47.2 | shut down a French nuclear plant. When he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 22, Vladimir Putin hoped to take Kiev in just three days. |
| 1:01.0 | But three and a half years on, the war continues. And Russia's economy is suffering from a manpower shortage. |
| 1:08.6 | With an estimated one million troop casualties, |
| 1:11.4 | many workers have been recruited into the war effort. |
| 1:14.5 | So just as he's relied on North Korea for ammunition and then soldiers, |
| 1:19.0 | President Putin has now turned to North Korea to fill gaps in the labour force. |
| 1:23.8 | Our South Korea correspondent, Gene McKenzie, |
| 1:25.9 | has spoken to six workers who've managed to escape |
| 1:28.6 | and heard how they were subjected to slave-like conditions in Russia. |
| 1:34.8 | How did your experience in Russia compare to what you had been expecting? |
| 1:39.3 | I was excited to go to Russia to travel abroad and earn money. |
... |
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