MSMT Report Says DPRK Overseas Labor Program Earned $450M–$800M in 2025 in Sanctions Breach; Pyongyang Rejects Findings

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) — a mechanism formed in October 2024 by the US, South Korea, Japan and other partners after China and Russia vetoed renewal of the UN Panel of Experts — issued a report on September 16, 2026 documenting continued DPRK deployment of overseas laborers in breach of UN Security Council resolutions banning the practice. The report found an estimated 35,600–101,280 North Korean workers active in at least 17 countries, primarily China and Russia, generating $450 million–$800 million in 2025 to help fund North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. It said the DPRK state confiscates 80–90% of workers' wages, in some cases leaving laborers net indebted to the regime. North Korea's Foreign Ministry rejected the findings via KCNA, saying it would 'not tolerate' what it called hostile forces' efforts to curb its international cooperation, and characterized the overseas labor arrangements as 'normal, mutually beneficial economic cooperation' rather than sanctions violations, adding that no new sanctions would block its development or defense of its 'core interests.'