DALLAS – Today, experts from the George W. Bush Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a new report detailing the human rights abuses in Yelabuga, Russia. It is there that Vladimir Putin’s regime is utilizing the forced labor of state-sanctioned workers from North Korea, young women from the global south, and Russian teenagers to work drone assembly lines.
“These regimes are committing gross and blatant violations of human dignity,” said Joseph Kim, coauthor and Program Manager of Global Policy at the Bush Institute. “The North Korean government is exploiting its citizens’ labor to sustain its brutal dictatorship and to fund its nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States and its allies. At the same time, Russia exploits this trafficked labor to enhance its military threats to Ukraine and beyond.”
According to the report, North Korea has sent nearly 12,000 of its own people to work in the Yelabuga factory, where their wages are confiscated by the Kim regime and used to further North Korea’s nuclear program. China funds the operation through sanctions evasion, supply chains, and manufacturing. The drones that are being produced in Russia are Iranian drone technology. This coordination among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, or CRINK, produces drones that advance Putin’s war in Ukraine and is another demonstration of these authoritarian governments’ malign alignment.
“The consequences of CRINK’s growing coordination extend beyond Yelabuga. This growing alignment impacts U.S. national security,” said Victor Cha, President of Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at CSIS, and Bush Institute Fellow. “The free world must prioritize human rights, hold these regimes accountable, and recognize the connection between human rights abuses and security threats.”
This report is part of a larger initiative, Malign Alignment, which focuses on how CRINK endangers the United States and our allies, global security, mineral supply chains, and human rights.
Visit bushcenter.org/Yelabuga for more.
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About the George W. Bush Institute
The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. We utilize our unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day. Learn more at www.bushcenter.org.
About the Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges. Founded in 1962, CSIS is led by General Joseph F. Dunford, who was appointed chief executive officer in 2026, succeeding John J. Hamre. The CSIS Board of Trustees is chaired by Thomas J. Pritzker, who has held the position since 2015. Learn more at www.csis.org.
