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Report says many DPRK IT workers are in China and cites plans to send up to 40,000 workers to Russia

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Confirm the MSMT report documents 1,000–1,500 DPRK IT workers based in China and notes plans to send up to 40,000 laborers (including IT workers) to Russia.

Source summary
The U.S. and other members of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team highlighted a recent MSMT report documenting how the DPRK evades UN sanctions through malicious cyber operations and overseas IT worker activity. The 140-page report—built from previously non-public material from 11 UN member states and nine private firms—details large-scale cryptocurrency thefts (including at least $2.8 billion from Jan. 2024–Sept. 2025 and an additional $400 million in the three months after the report), networks for laundering and procurement in several countries, and DPRK IT workers operating in at least eight countries.
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Latest fact check

The MSMT report and U.S. State Department statements summarizing it explicitly say that "Most known DPRK IT workers are based in China (1,000–1,500)" and that "plans exist to send up to 40,000 laborers, including IT workers, to Russia," and also state that DPRK IT workers are increasingly engaged in malicious cyber activity including cryptocurrency theft and data extortion. These findings appear in the MSMT materials and are quoted in the U.S. State Department press releases (Oct 22, 2025 and Jan 12, 2026) that summarize the MSMT report. Verdict: True — the quoted claims accurately reflect the MSMT report as reported by the MSMT and the U.S. State Department.

Sources

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 13, 2026, 08:57 AMTrue
    The MSMT report and U.S. State Department statements summarizing it explicitly say that "Most known DPRK IT workers are based in China (1,000–1,500)" and that "plans exist to send up to 40,000 laborers, including IT workers, to Russia," and also state that DPRK IT workers are increasingly engaged in malicious cyber activity including cryptocurrency theft and data extortion. These findings appear in the MSMT materials and are quoted in the U.S. State Department press releases (Oct 22, 2025 and Jan 12, 2026) that summarize the MSMT report. Verdict: True — the quoted claims accurately reflect the MSMT report as reported by the MSMT and the U.S. State Department.
  2. Original article · Jan 12, 2026
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