A Russian network of brokers sponsored by Pyongyang has taken North Koreans to work in Russia in exploitative conditions and in violation of UN sanctions, a rights group said.

In its report, the Hague-based group, Global Rights Compliance (GRC), said North Korea reaps funds from the operation, taking much of the wages earned by its workers who are sent to Russia and made to stay under threat of retribution.

The group cites open source information on the operation run by a Russian businessman, facial recognition technology to identify North Korean officials, and evidence gathered by its members posing undercover as prospective employers.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) leave after their meeting in Beijing on September 3, 2025 (AFP/Getty)

"This investigation exposes a dangerous convergence between two states' military ambitions," said the group's legal adviser, Elise Lauriot Prevost.

These were " North Korea's use of overseas forced labour to finance its…