North Korea reportedly sending more workers to occupied Ukraine

By Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein 

I want to emphasize that this is all far from confirmed and that Daily NK, by the nature of their work, often has to rely on a very small number of sources. Nonetheless, this report suggests authorities in North Korea are preparing to send additional workers to Russian-occupied Ukraine, other than those that have already supposedly been selected. Although the move itself is political in context, as the source notes in the article, reasons are likely mainly financial for North Korea.

North Korea plans to select additional laborers to send to Russian-occupied regions of eastern Ukraine. In fact, Pyongyang plans to send about 300 people, with the primary goal being to earn foreign currency.

A source in North Korea told Daily NK on Monday that the country plans to start the second round of selections on Nov. 1. He said the authorities have issued “recommendation rights” to each Cabinet ministry and committee, and that each workplace must submit recommendations to the Workers’ Party’s Cadres Department (human resources department) by the end of November. 

Daily NK previously reported that North Korea had selected personnel to dispatch for reconstruction efforts in regions of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia.

“Through the second round of selections, North Korea plans to organize a total of six teams [to be sent to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine],” said the source. “About 50 people will be in each team, so it seems about 300 people will be chosen nationwide. Considering the first round of selections [about 800-1,000 people], the country plans to send a large number of people overseas.”

…

The source said people in Pyongyang or with connections to the Cadres Department are not inquiring about the location — presumably because they already know about Ukraine — nor do they want their family members to apply for the job.

“Since Pyongyang residents aren’t going, the authorities are giving as many recommendations as they can to provincial residents,” he said.

The source further explained that officials in the cadre departments of major cities like Pyongyang, Nampo and Pyongsong complain that this is the first time in 30 years that they have seen people avoid a chance to go overseas. They say this is a marked contrast with the old days, when people needed official recommendations to go abroad.

On the other hand, provincial residents reportedly demonstrate no real hesitation to apply. The source said volunteers do not believe they are going to die, even if eastern Ukraine is a conflict zone.

“Some provincial residents optimistically believe that the state would never drive them to their deaths,” said the source. “It seems they think the government will conclude a good contract with Russia so that they can work in the safest place possible.”

(Source: Mun Dong Hui, “N. Korea to select additional laborers to work in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine,” Daily NK, October 26th, 2022.)