Radio Free Asia(RFA) says Russia issued visas en masse to North Koreans in the first quarter.

RFA said Friday that Moscow issued work visas to 753 North Koreans, tourist visas to three-thousand-67 and student visas to one-thousand-975 in the first quarter. The report was based on data released by Russia’s government earlier on Tuesday. 

Such data comes as Russia said in a report submitted to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea last month that as of March 10 there were 511 North Koreans in Russia. The report said the North Koreans weren’t able to go back to their homeland after borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Under UNSC Resolution 2397, all UN members were obligated to send back to the North all North Korean workers in their countries by December 22 of last year as part of efforts to block the North from procuring funds to develop weapons of mass destruction.  

However, RFA quoted the sanctions committee as saying that based on Russian government statistics, the number of work and student visas issued last year by Russia to North Koreans surged.

[Photo : YONHAP News]