North Korean restaurant workers remain in Hanoi and are allowed to work there for humanitarian purposes despite a ban on overseas DPRK laborers, the Vietnamese government has told U.N. sanctions investigators.

“Non-repatriated workers in Viet Nam have been granted temporary one-month visas to extend their stay in Viet Nam due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hanoi’s foreign ministry said according to an upcoming U.N. Panel of Experts report seen by NK News.

The foreign ministry reportedly told the Panel that Vietnam has not issued any new work permits. But it said Vietnam has greenlit their ongoing work at