North Korea defends overseas labor program, rejecting sanctions report

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Monday that it would not tolerate what it called hostile forces’ efforts to curb Pyongyang’s cooperation with other countries, adding that no new sanctions would block its development or defense of its core interests, state news agency KCNA reported, citing a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

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The statement accused the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a group of 11 U.N. members that tracks and reports violations and evasion of sanctions, of fabricating a report aimed at portraying what North Korea described as normal, mutually beneficial economic cooperation between itself and other countries as illegal, KCNA said.

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The MSMT said in a report issued Sept. 16 that North Korea continued to send laborers overseas in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions, generating an estimated $450 million to $800 million in 2025 to fund its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

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It estimated that 35,600 to 101,280 North Korean workers remain active in at least 17 countries, mainly China and Russia, and called for countries to immediately enforce U.N. resolutions by repatriating North Korean workers and refusing new work permits.

MSMT participating states include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, the report said.