Thousands of N. Koreans working in Russia

NEW YORK: Russia is allowing thousands of fresh North Korean labourers into the country and granting new work permits in potential violation of UN sanctions, the Wall Street Journal(WSJ) reported yesterday.

More than 10,000 new North Korean workers had registered in Russia since September, the paper said, citing records from the Russian Interior Ministry.

Russia’s action potentially violated UN sanctions aimed at reducing cash flows to North Korea and pressuring Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons, the WSJ reported, citing US officials.

Labour Ministry records obtained by the WSJ showed at least 700 new work permits had been issued to North Koreans in Russia this year, the paper said.

UN officials were probing potential violations of the sanctions, which contain narrow exceptions, WSJ reported.

Russia’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

‘‘It’s absolutely clear that Russia needs to do more. Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations,’’ a US State Department spokesman told Reuters.

‘‘It is estimated that North Korean labourers in Russia send between $US150 million $US300 million [$NZ223 million446 million] annually to Pyong yang. Now is the time for Russia to take action: Moscow should immediately and fully implement all the UN sanctions that it has signed on to,’’ the spokesman said.

The labour prohibition is a part of a broader array of sanctions aimed at eliminating an important revenue stream for Kim Jong Un’s regime. Most of the money North Koreans earn abroad ends up in government coffers as workers toil in gruelling conditions, the WSJ reported.

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock visited Pyongyang last month and posted a video online outlining his observations.

‘‘One of the things we’ve seen is very clear evidence of humanitarian need here,’’ he said in the video, posted to his official Twitter account and the UN website. — Reuters