North Korean Street Sweeper Salary at 3.13 Million Won? "They Work Like Robots, But Too Expensive"

A report has emerged stating that a plan to hire North Korean workers as street cleaners in Russia was abandoned due to high labor costs, leading to the hiring of workers from Africa instead.

NK News, a media outlet specializing in North Korean affairs, reported that there was an attempt to deploy North Korean workers for street cleaning duties in Orenburg, a city bordering Kazakhstan, last year, but negotiations with North Korean officials fell through.

The mayor of Orenburg stated in an interview that the city could offer a monthly wage of 55,000 rubles, approximately 1.06 million won, to street cleaners. However, the North Korean side claimed that their workers receive wages equivalent to 2.09 million to 3.13 million won even back in their home country.

The mayor expressed regret over being unable to afford the high wages demanded for North Korean workers, noting that they work like robots and have high productivity.

Ultimately, the city of Orenburg hired workers from Africa for street cleaning, and 31 individuals from Senegal are currently employed in those roles.

In response, North Korean economic experts expressed skepticism, stating that a monthly salary of around 3 million won is far from the actual wages of North Korean workers.

Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute and an expert on the North Korean economy, explained that while some high-income earners in the IT sector or party officials might receive real compensation, including rations and housing, equivalent to that level, the average North Korean worker's wage is closer to 1,400 won than 1,400 dollars.

Analysis also suggests that the North Korean government and intermediaries take a significant portion of the wages of workers dispatched overseas, and they may be exploiting Russia's severe labor shortage to demand higher compensation.

Experts pointed out that it sounds as if the North Korean government and intermediaries are overcharging Russia.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.