North Korea is reportedly earning between $450 million and $800 million each year from the labor of North Korean workers abroad, according to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a group of developed countries formed in 2024 to track how North Korea avoids United Nations (UN) sanctions. These workers, mainly in China and Russia, send money back to North Korea, which is then used to support the government, including funding its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The MSMT found that at least 17 countries are still employing an estimated 35,600 to 101,280 North Korean workers, despite a 2019 UN resolution that required their return to North Korea. As of now, around 38 countries are believed to host North Korean laborers. The report highlights that North Korean workers abroad are often required to send most of their earnings back to their home country. In China, the largest host country, between 20,000 and 70,000 North Koreans are estimated to be working, while Russia is the second-largest employer, with about 15,000 to 30,000 laborers. Although China has denied allegations of harboring illegal North Korean workers, human rights groups and investigations have shown that many continue to work in Chinese factories, plants, and fishing industries. In Russia, North Korean workers are sometimes disguised as students through a special visa program, allowing them to work in cities across the country. Russia and North Korea have also strengthened their military and defense ties in recent years, with some North Korean laborers working on construction projects in Russia. The MSMT report indicates that North Korean workers are subjected to severe exploitation, with the government allegedly taking 80 to 90 percent of their wages. Workers endure long hours, poor working conditions, and minimal access to medical care. In some cases, the amount taken from their earnings exceeds what they actually earn, leaving them in debt to the North Korean government. In Asia, laborers often work in IT, manufacturing, and construction, while in Africa, they are typically found in medical and construction roles. Testimonies from North Korean workers in Russia describe harsh conditions, including being allowed only one shower a year and being treated with extreme cruelty. The MSMT findings align with research from the Global Rights Compliance (GRC), an international law foundation based in the Netherlands, which found that North Korean workers are funneled through Russian labor agencies into a system marked by debt bondage, restricted freedom of movement, and constant surveillance. Lara Strangways, head of business and human rights at GRC, emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue, noting that the scale of state-sponsored forced labor is growing as North Korea increasingly relies on foreign currency. The MSMT includes countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States, among others, in its efforts to monitor and counter North Korea's evasion of sanctions.