North Korea recently made a secret request to Russian authorities for cooperation in stopping North Korean workers in Russia from running off, Daily NK has learned.
The move appears aimed at stopping the dramatic rise in overseas North Korean workers running away or hiding on forged passports since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A source in Russia told Daily NK on Tuesday that according to an end-of-year review sent to the North Korean authorities by a cadre from a North Korean company in Russia, the “number of instances of people disappearing on forged passports doubled from 2021 to 2022.”
“In mid-December, North Korea handed over to Russia a list of people who disappeared in the country in response [to the report],” he said.
According to the source, North Korea’s move appears aimed at stopping other overseas workers — who know they can hide out in Russia on forged passports of countries like China — from running off, rather than catching workers already on the lam.
After receiving the North Korean request for help, Russia reportedly sent security officials or police to warn private “brokers” who take money to forge passports for North Korean workers. The Russian officials told the brokers not to forge passports for North Koreans and hinted that they would receive rewards for reporting North Koreans who want forged passports.
Essentially, North Korean and Russian authorities have begun closely cooperating to stop North Korean workers in Russia from running away, an increasing occurrence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The source said even the “No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3” of North Korean enterprises in Russia have no idea what the authorities of the two countries agreed to.
The “No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3” refers to the manager, party secretary and security guidance officer of North Korean enterprises in Russia.
The source said the news has caused agitation not only among North Korean laborers currently working in Russia, but also among North Koreans who have already run from their workplaces, hiding in Russia and earning their livings on forged passports.
Amid this atmosphere, even Chinese people illegally sojourning in Russia are worried, the source said.
Brokers have been making forged passports for North Koreans and illegal visa extension papers for Chinese people, but now the North Koreans and Chinese are both on guard after Russia made its warning to the brokers.
Meanwhile, the source said North Korean authorities responded to the report that more workers are running off by saying that “they will soon catch all of them” since they are getting better cooperation from the Russians than before.
“The authorities also ordered that [companies] control everyone who remains and to carry out their share allotted by the state, even if only one worker is left,” he added.
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