A Russian city mayor lamented that he couldn’t afford to hire North Korean street cleaners, citing their steep wages amid Russia’s growing demand for DPRK laborers.

Orenburg Mayor Albert Yumadilov tried to hire North Korean workers for communal works in his city on the border with Kazakhstan last year but failed to strike a deal with DPRK handlers, he said in a recent video interview.

Multiple Russian regions maintain labor supply agreements with North Korea, the mayor said, but his region is not part of the deal.

His city could only afford around 55,000 rubles, or $715, per month