Authorities in Russia’s Kursk region are preparing for the potential deportation of North Korean citizens, an NK News investigation has found, inviting bids to arrange for their repatriation even as the DPRK deploys military workers to assist with recovery efforts in the region.

But experts said the tender process, which also seeks to arrange for the repatriation of other foreign nationals, doesn’t appear to target the DPRK and is instead a step to establish deportation mechanisms amid Russia’s right-wing turn.