"As for workers from North Korea, who must return by the end of 2019 in accordance with the UN documents, the Russian Federation, of course, will fulfill all international obligations," Topilin told reporters in Nalchik.
In December 2017, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2379, introducing another round of sanctions against North Korea that, in particular, required UN member states to deport North Korean migrant workers back to their home country by the end of 2019.
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora said in December that the number of North Korean migrant workers in Russia decreased from 34,000 to 11,000 since the adoption of the resolution.