Russian recruiter openly advertises 2K North Korean female workers for hire | NK News
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September 19, 2026Sep 19, 2026

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Russian recruiter openly advertises 2K North Korean female workers for hire

Operation points to expansion of DPRK labor dispatches beyond construction industry, raising human rights concerns

A Russian recruiting agency is openly advertising its ability to provide large numbers of North Korean female workers, offering up to 2,000 a week despite U.N. sanctions against DPRK overseas labor.

The St. Petersburg-based Startaff firm claims it can arrange North Korean workers for “sewing industries, agricultural complexes and for finishing and painting work,” according to its Sept. 5 bid on a publicly available tender platform.

The services appear to run afoul of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2397, which banned North Korean nationals from earning income overseas and demanded the repatriation of such workers by the end of 2019.