The number of North Koreans going to Russia has spiked amid strengthening bilateral ties.

According to U.S.-based North Korea observer NK News on Tuesday, Russia's Federal Security Service(FSB) recorded 365 North Koreans entering in the third quarter of last year.

When looking at the purpose of entry, the biggest number was business with 253 entrants, followed by education at 62, personal reasons at 24, automobile mechanics at 23 and labor with three people.

The latest figure was higher than the 213 reported in the second quarter of last year and 153 in the first quarter, as well as the 223 reported in all of 2022.

However, some experts suspect that Russian authorities may be obscuring the number of individuals entering for the purpose of earning foreign currency.