North Korea’s overseas labor dispatch is expected to accelerate, with the resumption of passenger railways between North Korea and Russia. The North Korean delegation from the Naseon City People’s Committee visited the Primorsky region in Russia. According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Governor Oleg Kozhemyako of the Primorsky region announced that passenger railways between Vladivostok in Russia and Naseon will resume after meeting with the North Korean delegation.
The delegation, led by Chairman Shin Chang-il of the Naseon City People’s Committee, visited the Primorsky region on the 12th. Governor Kozhemyako stated during the meeting that the preparation for the resumption of passenger trains is ready and that this railway will be convenient for both North Korean and Primorsky residents.
Regular railway operations between North Korea and Russia were suspended in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19. Following the resumption of cargo railways in November 2022 and air routes in October 2023, the resumption of passenger trains is the next step. Increased cooperation between North Korea and Russia, which potentially violates UN Security Council sanctions, suggests that North Korea may actively resume dispatching laborers abroad through these newly resumed channels.
One of North Korea’s major sources of foreign currency earning, the dispatch of overseas laborers, is in violation of sanctions. In December 2017, the UN Security Council resolution stipulated that all countries must repatriate all North Korean workers within their borders by December 2019.