Rising demand for North Korean labor in Russia has sharply increased wages for North Korean workers in China, according to a South Korean researcher.

More than five Chinese entrepreneurs involved in DPRK-related businesses in Liaoning Province and Beijing reported a roughly 50% increase in North Korean workers’ wages following the COVID-19 pandemic, Joung Eun-lee of the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification told NK News on Friday.

Finding North Korean workers in China has been particularly difficult with current monthly earnings at around 3,500 yuan ($504), compared to roughly 2,200 yuan ($320) during the pandemic, one of the Chinese entrepreneurs