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North Korea sent about 100,000 workers abroad in 2025 and earned an estimated $450 million to $800 million from their wages, with much of the revenue allegedly directed toward nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to a Kyodo News report citing the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, or MSMT.
The workers were reportedly deployed mainly to China and Russia, as well as other countries, despite U.N. sanctions targeting North Korea’s overseas labor activities.
According to the MSMT report, Pyongyang collected between 80% and 90% of the income earned by North Korean nationals working abroad.
That arrangement generated an estimated $450 million to $800 million for the North Korean government last year, the report said.
The report alleged that North Korea continued to use overseas workers to generate foreign currency while bypassing international sanctions.
Revenue from the workers was described as an important source of foreign currency for Pyongyang, which has faced U.N. sanctions for years over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities.
The MSMT assessment said the large share of earnings taken from workers provided the government with funds that could be directed toward priority programs.
According to the report, income generated through overseas labor was used in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions to support areas including North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
The report assessed that continuing to send workers abroad could allow Pyongyang to maintain another source of financing for those programs despite international restrictions.
North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities remain subject to U.N. sanctions, including measures targeting overseas labor as a source of revenue.
The MSMT called for stronger implementation of existing U.N. sanctions against North Korea and urged countries hosting North Korean workers to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions.
The report also called for North Korean nationals working overseas to be repatriated.
It warned that continued overseas employment could provide North Korea with additional income that could be used to finance its nuclear and missile programs.
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