Global News Podcast - North Korean workers subjected to 'slave-like' conditions in Russia

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

South Korean intelligence officials have told the BBC that 10,000 North Korean workers were sent to Russia in 2024. They were used to fill a labour shortage created by the invasion of Ukraine. Six North Korean workers who fled Russia say they were subjected to abysmal working conditions, with most of the money they earned sent straight back to the North Korean regime. Also: The US and China agree a further postponement of hefty trade tariffs on each other's goods, and could holiday postcards make a comeback? The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

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You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 13 hours GMT on Tuesday the 12th of August. North Korean sent to Russia to fill labour shortages caused by the war in Ukraine have described slave-like conditions. The US and China have agreed another 90-day pause in their tariff war. And Pakistan says it's killed 50 militants along the border with Afghanistan. Also in the podcast, why are unemployed young adults in China pretending to have jobs? And it was described as a massive and unpredictable invasion. And effectively systems immediately started to signal a very serious fault.

How a swarm of jellyfish managed to shut down a French nuclear plant. When he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 20, In 2020, Vladimir Putin hoped to take Kiev in just three days. But three and a half years on, the war continues. And Russia's economy is suffering from a manpower shortage. With an estimated one million troop casualties, many workers have been recruited into the war effort. So just as he's relied on North Korea for ammunition and then soldiers, President Putin has now turned to North Korea to fill gaps in the labor force. Our South Korea correspondent, Gene McKenzie, has spoken to six workers who've managed to escape and heard how they were subjected to slave-like conditions in Russia. How did your experience in Russia compare to what you had been expecting? I was excited to go to Russia, to travel abroad and earn money. But once I started working, felt like I was in a labor camp, a prison without bars.

This is a young North Korean man I met back in the spring. We're calling him Tay, and we've had somebody else. read his words. He's one of six North Koreans I've spoken to, who've managed to escape from Russian construction sites over the past few years since the war in Ukraine broke out. Many of Russia's young men are tied up fighting or have fled, so these North Koreans are being used to fill the country's massive labour shortage. But they're treated appallingly. They told me they're not allowed to leave their building sites where they work 18 hours a day, every day of the week. Here's Tay again.

I was terrified when I woke up each morning, realizing I had to repeat the same day all over again. My hands would cease shut, paralyzed from the day before. In the past, it was common for North Koreans to work abroad like this, making money for Kim Jong-un. But in 2019, the UN banned countries from using North Korean labor in an attempt to starve Kim of the means. to build nuclear weapons.

And so most of these workers were sent home. I've just spoken to an intelligence official here in South Korea who's told me that these workers are now flooding back into Russia. More than 10,000 arrived last year, they said. And many more than that will come this year. Eventually, they think there will be more than 50,000 of them. This is key to our two-nara-tongued, This is Kim Jong-un announcing a defense pact with Russia last summer.

These workers are just the latest way Kim has come to Putin's defense in this war. First he sent ammunition, then soldiers. In June, a senior Russian official admitted that 5,000 North Koreans would be sent to rebuild Russia's cursed region, where Ukrainian troops took territory last summer. The Russian need for migrant labour is great than it has ever been. Andrei Lankov is an expert in relations between North Korea and Russia and a professor at Seoul's Cookman University. I believe both sides are making good money.

Russia are getting non-problematic, relatively cheap, disciplined labour. And North Korean government is basically sitting idle while making money. Yes, anonguezai. Nice to see you again. I've come to meet another man who ran away from a construction site outside Moscow and made it safely here to South Korea. He tells me that most of their earnings were sent directly to the North Korean regime. They were told they'd get a small amount, the equivalent of about £100 a month,

but only when they returned to North Korea, and there was a chance they'd get nothing. I was shocked by how little we made. We were treated like animals, not humans. The other workers used to say, We were just slaves for Kim Jong-un. They used to taunt us. You're not men, just machines that can speak.

The presence of this workers is likely to be the lasting legacy of this war. Here's Professor Lankov again. I will not be surprised if we are going to have in a few years' time 50,000 or 100,000 North Korean workers employed, largely in construction but also in logging industry, in fishing, food processing everywhere. One evening, I sat with one of the workers on a bench overlooking the glittering Seoul skyline

and he told me how lonely he was that he missed his family back in North Korea terribly. But still he feels lucky. Thousands are trapped in these slave-like conditions in Russia and it seems that many more will keep arriving long after the bombs and fighting have stopped. Our South Korea correspondent, Jean McKenzie. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president says Russian troops appear to be preparing for a new offensive,

even as Vladimir Putin gears up for a summit in the U.S. state of Alaska on Friday. Vladimir Zelensky isn't invited, but President Trump says he'll be consulted afterwards. Cooperation between Washington and Moscow in the Arctic could form a key part of the talks. Andreas Ustagan from the Norwegian think tank, the Fritiov Nansen Institute, spoke to Anna Foster about the significance of the polar region. I think the end goal here is to try to find some common ground. And the Arctic has been a place historically where we see that the US and Russia have collaborated

on managing the challenges that arises in this cold, difficult climate to operate in. So I think the end goal is perhaps from the Putin regime to try to lure, if you will, the US into some form of accommodation or some form of collaborative arrangement in the Arctic. And I think then for the US, then they might be lured into just such an accommodation because of money, because of Trump administration's interest in trying to reap a profit in the Arctic. And what is it that's there? I mean, obviously there are things that can be harvested, oil and gas,

but there are also shipping routes as well that could be opened up. What particularly would offer the greatest economic benefits? There's a tremendous amount of resources. And I think we often tend to forget that in the Arctic, the US actually meets Russia. I mean, you can literally walk across from Russia to Alaska in wintertime when the Bering Strait freezes over. So this proximity between the two countries up in the north kind of enables more cooperation on shipping, but also means that you have to, in a way, talk to each other to manage fish stocks that traverse across the maritime boundaries up there. Also, if you want to do more oil and gas development, you probably should collaborate on how to do that in the Arctic.

So there's a tremendous amount of potential for economic development. And you mentioned shipping. And shipping is perhaps also the one big idea that both Trump and Putin are setting their eyes on, this idea that you could use the shortcut from Europe to Asia via the Arctic. But again, exactly what comes out of this meeting is a bit up in the air, to be honest. And there are also, as you say there, some of the positive benefits for those two parties, but drawbacks potentially as well. Yeah, I mean, if you're sitting in this side of the Arctic, I mean, in Norway right now, relatively close to the European Arctic, then you're worried about Russia, right? In all the Nordic countries right now, and also in the UK, in France, in Northern Europe, we are worried about the Russian military activity that emanates from the European part of the Arctic, where Russia has seen.

the majority of its nuclear weapons based. So this idea of the US or the Trump administration finding some form of arrangement with Russia that entails the Arctic, the fear is that that might impact negatively our sense of security in this side of the Arctic, because we are still so dependent on the US in terms of managing Russia in security affairs. Andreas Oostagen talking to Anna Foster.

President Trump has been targeting what he sees as China's unfair trade practices ever since his return to the White House, imposing 10% tariffs almost immediately before raising them to 145%. China responded with 125% tax of its own, dismissing the Trump strategy as a joke. With the world fearing an all-out trade war, the two nations then agreed a 90-day pause while they held negotiations. That was due to run out today, but President Trump has signed off on another 90-day delay. The uncertain. however, remains. Beth Bernichi runs a Minnesota-based baby firm. There's no way to plan for the future of the business. I have my products in Walmart

and Target, two major retailers in the United States. I have to establish contracts with them in the coming month for the products that will be on shelves next year. But since I have no idea what the tariff is actually going to end up being, I have no control or idea about the pricing that's going to work for my business to be in these retailers. Well, that's the US. How is all this affecting business in China? I asked our Beijing correspondent, Laura Bicker. I've been travelling quite a bit across the southern part of China where a lot of these factories produce goods for the United States.

When the truce was first announced, there was a palpable sigh of relief. Many of them had put up a very good front. Many of them had said, look, we can get through this and they can. given the state of China's own economy, given the fact that there is an economic downturn here, given the fact that people here are not buying goods in the same way that they have been, they needed a good export year, they need that export market to work. What I would say is that many Chinese businesses see the risk in dealing with the United States now. They saw it back in 2018 during Donald Trump's first term and during the first trade war,

and they're seeing it again now. So whereas they diversified away from the US, they rely less on the US, they're doing so even more. It's the uncertainty in business that they do not like. They want to know that they will make this product and they will have a buyer and people need to know what price that product's going to be at. Because here in China where they're making it, they need to know the profit margin, how many workers to hire. And that's important. So we're now looking at another deadline of November the 10th. So factories will be trying to produce as much as possible.

Get those goods across to the United States before these negotiations take place before November the 10th before this latest truce runs out. Now, President Trump's executive order said that trade discussions with China have been constructive. What's the view in Beijing? It's difficult to get a sense in Beijing because obviously they don't share their inner thoughts. But the sense that I get from officials is that they fail, that they have the upper hand. And that is because China has really kept a tight grip on their rare earth minerals. They control 70% of the world's supply of rare earth minerals. Now that means

if you want to make a smartphone, build a wind turbine, make a car, you need these rare earth minerals from China. And China has been saying to the US, yes, we'll give you access, but will give you certain access. And the US has been desperately trying to negotiate for that. China does see the prospect of a deal because it wants access to advanced computer chips. That's to fuel China's next push towards artificial intelligence, towards humanoid robots. Now, it's doing pretty well without US-made chips anyway, but certain companies certainly have been looking to try to get access to more advanced computer chips. So there is a deal to be done.

The problem is, when it comes to both computer chips and rare earths, Both China and the US see these things and keep them close to their chests because they fear what will happen when these things get into their rival's hands and they know that it's leverage. So that's going to be the real difficulty when officials sit across from one another and try to come to a larger deal. Laura Bicca in Beijing. A nuclear power plant in northern France has temporarily shut down

after a swarm of jellyfish got stuck in its cooling systems. French journalist Nabila Ramdani explains the extent of the damage. What happened is that a huge swarm of jellyfish got sucked into the biggest nuclear plant, power plant, in Western Europe, and in fact managed to sabotage it. What happened is the three swimming marine animals and to no less than four of the six reactors at the Gravelin plant, which is close to Dunkirk on the English Channel, and it was described as a massive and unpredictable invasion. and effectively systems immediately started to signal a very serious fault.

We normally think of jellyfish as being those creatures that sting us while we're swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, but this is a massive escalation in the harm they can actually cause. You don't really expect northern seas to be full of jellyfish, but global warming has changed all that. And there are now lots of jellyfish around the beaches close to French cities and towns, such as Calais and Denkirk. And it has to be said that Gravelyne is run by the French nuclear energy giant, EDF. And it has been operating since 1980.

But this is the first time they've had a problem like this. French journalist Nabila Ramdani. And still to come on the Global News podcast. The young people are saying, come on, I've sent enough text, enough WhatsApp messages. Let's make someone's day and send them a postcard. Why postcards are making a comeback. Balochistan in southwest Pakistan has been dogged by a decade's long insurgency. Now the army says it's killed 50 militants in a four-day operation near the Afghan border.

The news comes a day after the US designated the Baluch Liberation Army as a terror group. I heard more about the army operation from our Pakistan correspondent, Azadamashiri. So while we can't independently verify that figure put out by the military, according to them, these successive operations took place in Job District. So that's an area along the border, Pakistan shares with Afghanistan. And we get these updates on these operations regularly. Balochistan, as you mentioned, has experienced a separatist insurgency for decades. But the number of militants killed here, the number that they're claiming, is one of the highest figures in months. We reached out to the army, and they didn't confirm whether the militants in

question were of the Baloch Liberation Army or the Pakistani Taliban, who do occasionally wage attacks in the province as well. But the timing of this is particularly relevant because after years of Pakistan pushing for it, this week the United States designated the BLA as a terrorist organization. And that designation coincides with Pakistan's army chief making his second visit to Washington. So while we can't verify the figures, what we know is the army is signaling a renewed push in the province as they're being backed by this new designation by the US. It's worth mentioning as well that that designation is when the United Kingdom has given years ago. How violent is Balochistan? And what's the impact on the Pakistani economy, given that the province

has, it's rich in minerals and also China is involved there? Yes, Balochistan is one of the most turbulent regions of Pakistan. And as we've mentioned, that is because of that separatist insurgency there. Those groups, these separatist groups, accuse the central government of exploiting the natural resources in the province. because while it's home to all these minerals such as copper and gold, it's also the most underdeveloped area of the country. And these groups accused the central government of not allowing the local population to benefit. Now, that's a major reason groups like the BLA have been waging this insurgency in the province.

And as the military has been countering this threat, it's faced accusations of enforced disappearances and human rights abuses, all of which Pakistan firmly denies. But getting a handle on the violence there is a huge priority for the government as they try to close mineral deals with other countries to get some foreign investment flowing into the country. China already has a multi-billion dollar project in the province. The US and Pakistan have been talking about a potential deal. And Pakistan sees Balochistan as the key to strengthening its struggling economy. Azadei, Mashiri. And since we spoke to Azade, a Pakistani government official has said that at least nine soldiers,

died in a militant attack on a police station and border force compound in Balochistan yesterday. Now, would you pay to go into an office to give the impression you have a job? That's what's happening in parts of China where youth unemployment is over 14%. Dr. Christian Yao from Victoria University of Wellington is an expert on the Chinese economy. He's been talking to Rahal Tandon. The unemployment rate has been really high in recent years, especially during 2020's, you know, during COVID. we start to see over 20%, so it's that one in five young people unemployed in China. They change the way they collect information about unemployment statistics,

but we're still looking at the number sitting around 14.5 this year. It is an issue that is quite a significant for the labor market in China. But also, this is how the young people have been working so hard throughout their life, and then suddenly they're ready to go into the labor market, to contribute to the society, and they fund themselves without any job offers. So I guess it is a way for them to bridge the gap, but also it is their coping strategies to maintain their mental health, if you like, because of all the external pressures that they face.

I was reading about one company that is called the Pretend to Work Company. How much people are paying to pretend to work? It's a small sum of money, I think typically around 30 RMB a day, It's about three pounds per day, and you can buy a monthly pass. I think the idea of that is that if you charge people too much, then there won't be a high interest amount of young graduates who do not have stable income. Yeah, three pounds is what, about three and a half US dollars a day.

We had a phenomenon a while ago in China, the sort of lying down phenomenon where youngsters almost gave up because they weren't getting in jobs. Does this mean that that trend is declining? No, it's still going on. And I think this is just another side branch emerged from laying flat. You know, I think this is starting to get into the era that Chinese people, not only young people, but the general public start to realize that things have become very different in terms of the labor market, in term of the economy. So they start to change their self-perception of how they can go through those times. And some of them might choose to lay flat, which means that it provides limited.

if it's not overspans or over-investing things, but waiting for a better opportunity so that they can come back and start their career. There's going to be 12 million graduates from China this summer alone. So this pressure is huge for people who are currently in the job market, but also for those who are about to join into the unemployment workforces. Christian Yao in New Zealand talking to Rahul Tanton. Can cats help in the treatment of Alzheimer's? Well, scientists at Edinburgh University have decided.

discovered that the animals develop a similar kind of dementia, suffering from a build-up of a toxic protein in the brain, just as people with Alzheimer's do. Dr. Robert McGehan led the study. Feline dementia is condition typically seen in older cats, and it shares some similarities in Alzheimer's disease and that we can see gradual changes in memory and behavior. And what this might look like in somebody owns their cat

is often one thing that we'll see is their cats vocalizing more, meowing more often at night. they can start to seem confused, especially in familiar places, forgetting litter box habits. It's much more common than I think people realise. It's about one in three cats over the age of 11 show at least one symptom of dementia. And by the time, cats are over the age of 15, that it closes into about one in two, so 50% of cats. So we already knew that a toxic protein called amyloid beta, and this is a protein that's thought to play a key role in causing human Alzheimer's disease, also builds up in the brains of older cats and cats with dementia.

And what we've shown now is that this toxic protein actually triggers quite a lot of inflammation in the brain, and then these activated brain immune cells starting golfing or eating up the connections between brain cells called synapses. Now, it's the loss of these connections that's thought to lead directly to the development and the progression of the clinical signs of dementia. So this gives us kind of a clear pathway in cats from the buildup of this toxic protein to how the symptoms are starting. And what's striking is just how closely this mirror is exactly what we see in people with Alzheimer's disease. A lot of dementia research currently focus on the use of things like laboratory animals, such as mice, where we induce disease in them. And while they, of course, have their uses, they also have their limitations. And cats in some ways may therefore make a better model to study.

human Alzheimer's disease because they're naturally developing these changes. So studying cats could reveal sort of new ways that we can protect these brain connections and reduce information. And this hopefully in the longer term can speed up the development of treatments. And of course, this is a win-win because we can simultaneously help both people and cats with dementia. And that was Dr Robert McGeehan from Edinburgh University. It used to be a key holiday tradition, sending postcards to friends and family back home to tell them just what they're missing out on. The cards usually had a picture of local attractions or a funny drawing on one side and space for a handwritten note and address on the other.

The rise of social media has led to a serious decline in postcard writing, but as David Silato reports from the English coastal town of Hastings, it may be making a comeback. Do you write postcards? Yes. Really? Yes. How old are you?

I'm 40. I thought postcards had disappeared. No, I've arrived it to my friends and my family, my grandma. For a generation raised by instant messages, it's a bit of a surprise to encounter a fondness for a communication system that is anything but instant. There's that one? Thank you.

Lovely, thank you. Postcards. Once about a time for Scott, a postman here in Hastings. His August mail sack would be stuffed. Can I go, that one? Not anymore. It's a dying thing, isn't it? It is.

And I used to enjoy delivering them. However, four generations on, the business Trevor Wolford and his brother Graham inherited is now a bit of a one-off. We are 123 years old. We are the last family-run national postcard business in the UK. It is heyday. They're about seven or eight companies around the UK. We are the last one standing. But they are optimistic.

Graham explained they still sell around 3 million a year. Of course it doesn't mean they actually get posted. So do they actually take the trouble to go and find a stamp and write it and stick in the post box? But the long years of decline might have come to an end. Sales have begun to tick upwards. One area of growth isn't seaside towns but where the next generation now flock to in summer. Well if you go to Glastonbury there is actually a postcard pop-up and it's increasingly happening at more and more festivals. where you've got the time, why not sit and send a loved one a postcard to tell them you there? Young people? Yeah.

Increasingly, the young people are saying, come on, I send enough text, enough WhatsApp messages. Let's make someone's day and send them a postcard. And here is a postcard that I sent home. So I sent this on Glastonbury on Saturday and it arrived on Monday. And so on the shingle, behind the fishing sheds, I handed out a few. cards to see if I could revive the lost art. Oh no, who is sending a postcard to? Whoever you fancy. Do you know

how to write it? I can't remember. And I was met with a surprising level of enthusiasm. Having a fantastic time away, lovely place, Hastings, weather is great, love Andrew, four kisses. Who have you sent that to? That's myself. You've given yourself kisses? I've given myself kisses.

Sir, you're a star. You know it's the best thing. It's better than a text. Absolutely. It's perhaps too soon to call it a But they definitely still have an appeal. I mean, how many of us have a treasured email? Good question. That report by David Silito.

And that's all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Andy Mills and produced by Chantal Hartle and Stephanie Zackerson. Our editors, Karen Martin, I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. Thank you.