SEOUL - An expert has reported the arrival of approximately 300 individuals believed to be North Korean workers in Russia, suggesting an intensification of the partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, citing a source in Russia, the group arrived by train near Vladivostok on February 5. The identification of these individuals as workers, based on their appearance and not tourists or students, indicates a potential breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit the overseas employment of North Korean workers to curb the country's nuclear ambitions. The South Korean National Intelligence Service is monitoring the situation, amidst international scrutiny regarding the enforcement of UN sanctions against North Korea's labor exports.