Seoul: North Korea will send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to support reconstruction work in Russia’s Kursk region, Russian media reported, another sign of expanding military partnership between the two nations.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti cited top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu as saying that North Korea will dispatch 1,000 deminers as well 5,000 military construction workers to the Kursk region.
RIA Novosti said Shoigu made the comments during a visit to Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has already sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Washington and Seoul have expressed concern that, in return, Kim may seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military.
During a visit to Pyongyang earlier this month, Shoigu and Kim Jong Un had discussed rebuilding the Kursk region, according to Russian state media.
Russia’s Tass news agency earlier reported Shoigu arrived in the North Korean capital Tuesday on an unspecified “special” mission from Putin and was expected to meet with Kim. North Korean state media didn’t immediately confirm the visit.
In April, Pyongyang and Moscow officially confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia for the first time, saying that soldiers of the two countries were fighting alongside each other to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. Putin thanked North Korea at that time for its participation in the war and promised not to forget their sacrifices.
