North Korea will send 1,000 military construction workers and deminers to help rebuild Russia’s border Kursk region amid Ukrainian attacks, a senior Russian official said on Tuesday.
Announcing the news during his visit to North Korean capital Pyongyang, Vladimir Putin’s security council chief, Sergei Shoigu described the deployment of troops as "fraternal assistance”. Shoigu said North Korea leader Kim Jong Un decided to send 1,000 sappers to clear mines in the Kursk region and 5,000 military construction workers to restore infrastructure there, according to Russia’s state news agency, Tass.
Shoigu said North Korean military troops will help restore Kursk region that was partly invaded after Ukraine launched large-scale cross-border incursion last August. “This is a kind of brotherly aid being sent by the Korean people and their leader, Kim Jong Un, to our country,” RIA Novosti news agency quoted Shoigu as saying.
Neighbouring South Korea and Japan condemned the planned deployment of more North Korean troops to Russia, with Seoul saying it was a violation of UN sanctions on the North.
North Korea’s KCNA reported Wednesday that Kim Jong Un affirmed cooperation with Russia over Kursk but omitted mention of sending army engineers and deminers, as claimed by Russian media. Kim vowed to "invariably and unconditionally support" Russia’s "sovereignty defense" - reiterating his backing for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Shoigu stated that the two sides agreed to erect memorials in both countries in honor of North Korean soldiers who died while fighting in the Kursk region. According to British defence ministry reports, North Korea has suffered 6,000 casualties in Russia since sending 10,000 troops to fight against Ukraine last year.
