Chinese brokers openly advertise North Korean workers on WeChat

In 2026, brokers in China are openly advertising North Korean workers on WeChat and other social media platforms, despite U.N. sanctions prohibiting the employment of North Korean labor overseas. These ads provide details about the number of available laborers, their ages, and skill sets, a shift from the traditional method of relying on personal connections.

This new approach allows brokers to directly market available workers to companies, rather than relying on informal introductions. Some ads even claim that hundreds of young North Korean women are ready to work, with their entry procedures already completed. This shift in the brokering system indicates that North Korea is no longer solely sending large groups of workers to factories, but rather matching smaller numbers of skilled workers with specific businesses.

The practice contravenes U.N. Security Council Resolution 2397, which mandated the return of North Korean workers to the country by the end of 2019. The open advertising of North Korean workers may signal a surplus of available labor, as brokers seem to be actively seeking employers to assign these workers.