By the end of the year, 12,000 North Korean drone builders will be in place in Russia, according to a Telegram post from the intelligence service HUR.
The North Koreans are reportedly working in a factory in Yelabuga in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, The Kyiv Independent reports. There, they will build Shahed attack drones, which were originally developed by Iran but which Russia now also produces itself.
HUR states that Russia recently negotiated the agreement regarding the workers with the North Korean Jihyang Technology Trade Company, which is said to be acting as a front for Green Pine Associated Corporation – a North Korean company that is under sanctions for arms trafficking in connection with North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Earlier this year, a Ukrainian general estimated that around 20,000 North Koreans were already working in Russian arms factories. Pyongyang has also reportedly sent thousands of soldiers to fight for Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine.
