Seoul: More than 3,700 North Koreans visited Russia during the third quarter of this year for “study” purposes, marking the highest quarterly figure since 2010, a United States news outlet reported Saturday. The data indicates a significant increase in North Korean nationals traveling to Russia, sparking discussions about the underlying reasons for these visits.
According to Yonhap News Agency, U.S. broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a total of 5,263 North Korean nationals visited Russia during the July-September period, based on data from Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service. This number is comparable to the 5,591 recorded during the same period in 2019. However, the figures dropped significantly to double digits from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the third-quarter figures for this year, 3,765 North Koreans visited Russia for study purposes, showing a sharp increase from 38 in the first quarter and 332 in the second quarter. This marks the highest third-quarter figure sinc
e 2010. RFA speculated that these visitors might be workers dispatched to Russia to earn and send back foreign currency. Alternatively, they may be linked to North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine. However, RFA noted that data suggested no recent dispatch of additional workers to Russia.
Further adding to the complexity of the situation, last month, U.S. National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby mentioned that North Korea moved at least 3,000 troops to Russia by ship during a period from early- to mid-October.