Russia's visas for North Koreans quadruple in a year to 36,413 in 2025

Visas jump from 9,239 in 2024 to 36,413 in 2025; more than 98 percent classified as education-purpose, raising concerns about a new channel for labor deployment as North Korea-Russia land links expand

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The number of visas Russia issued to North Korean nationals jumped nearly fourfold in a single year, with more than 98 percent classified as education-purpose — a pattern analysts say may signal a new channel for labor deployment amid deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The findings come from a presentation by Kim Gyu-cheol, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, delivered Saturday at a round table on inter-Korean agricultural cooperation organized by the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Kim argued that Russia's role in North Korea's external economic structure has grown significantly since the two countries drew closer.

Russia issued 9,239 visas to North Korean nationals in 2024. That figure jumped to 36,413 in 2025 — roughly four times the prior year's total.

North Korea's overseas labor deployments were most active between 2015 and 2017, before UN sanctions took effect. During that period, Russia issued between 10,000 and 12,000 visas annually to North Koreans, predominantly work visas.

After UN sanctions banned the overseas dispatch of North Korean workers in 2018 and 2019, work visa numbers fell while student visas rose. Visa issuance then dropped sharply across the board from 2020 to 2023, when North Korea sealed its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes in Russia's visa issuance and movement of North Korean nationals Sources: Russian Foreign Ministry, UN reports, presentation by Kim Gyu-cheol of Ewha Womans University

The trend reversed in 2024, when North Korea-Russia relations accelerated rapidly. Visa issuance surged after the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June 2024.

Particularly striking is that more than 98 percent of visas issued since 2024 have been classified as education-purpose. Kim said multiple circumstantial indicators suggest North Korea may be using student status as a cover to deploy additional workers and generate foreign currency.

Transportation and logistics infrastructure linking the two countries is also expanding. Construction of a road bridge connecting North Korea's Tumen River area with Russia's Khasan is underway, and rail and air links between the two countries are being extended.

Adding road freight networks to the existing rail connections could considerably diversify trade and labor-movement routes with Russia. Along the North Korea-China border, new overland logistics links — including the New Yalu River Bridge — are also being pursued.

Kim said North Korea's external economic partnerships are shifting from a China-centered structure to one that includes both China and Russia. China remains the primary partner in the economic sphere, while Russia is expanding cooperation with North Korea mainly in the military and security domains.

The effects of North Korea-Russia cooperation on the North Korean economy may vary by sector, Kim noted. He said that since the second half of 2023, military-supply cooperation between the two countries appears to have boosted production activity in North Korean heavy and chemical industries, particularly in facilities directly linked to munitions manufacturing.

adastra@heraldcorp.com