N. Korea could bolster drone capabilities through workers at Russian factory: report

North Korea could strengthen its military drone capabilities by gaining technical expertise through workers deployed to a major Russian drone production facility, potentially posing a new security threat to South Korea and US forces in the region, a US think tank report showed Wednesday.

The report, jointly published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the George W. Bush Institute, examined the security implications of North Korea's involvement in Russia's drone manufacturing industry, as well as the roles of China and Iran in supporting Moscow's war against Ukraine.

According to a separate report issued by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) in September, Russia hosted an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 North Korean workers as of the end of 2025, some of whom were involved in manufacturing military drones. The report also said Moscow had established a student visa scheme to disguise North Korean workers as students.

"North Korean labor also transfers technical know-how. Technicians sent to Alabuga will return to Pyongyang with invaluable lessons from working at a mass-production drone assembly line, having observed Russian refinements to the constantly improving Geran drones," the report said, referring to Russia's Alabuga drone production complex.

The Geran is a Russian-produced, Iranian-designed attack drone widely used by Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

"A North Korea with a more sophisticated and growing drone program poses a new order of military challenge for South Korea, Japan, and US forces in the Indo-Pacific," it added.

The report, authored by Victor Cha, Korea Chair at CSIS, and Joseph Kim, program manager at the Bush Institute, cited Ukrainian military intelligence estimates that up to 12,000 North Korean workers had been assigned to the Alabuga complex.

It also highlighted the financial benefits Pyongyang derives from its overseas labor operations, noting that the regime withholds 70 to 90 percent of workers' wages.

"Wages earned by North Korean workers ultimately flow back to Pyongyang and the same regime that compels the labor," it said.

According to the MSMT, each North Korean worker in Russia generates an estimated average of $7,500 in annual wages, with monthly earnings potentially reaching up to five times those of North Korean workers in China, depending on the industry. (Yonhap)