South Korea’s intelligence agency reports that North Korea’s planned deployment of thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region is likely to occur as early as July or August.
Following a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, Sergei Shoigu, a top Russian security official, stated that Kim decided to dispatch 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to assist in rebuilding the war-affected area.
North Korea has already provided combat troops and ammunition to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
On Thursday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed a closed-door parliamentary committee that the dispatch of these additional 6,000 military personnel is projected to begin in July or August, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the officials present at the meeting.
Mr. Lee quoted the NIS as stating that North Korea has commenced recruiting soldiers for deployment to Russia.
He informed reporters that the NIS noted the North Korean dispatch of combat troops last year occurred approximately one month after Mr. Shoigu’s visit to North Korea and the signing of an agreement with Pyongyang officials.
In April, Pyongyang and Moscow announced that their soldiers had fought jointly to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.
While the two countries haven’t publicly disclosed the number of North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia, South Korean, US, and Ukrainian officials reported that North Korea sent approximately 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last autumn.
South Korea reported that North Korea deployed an additional 3,000-4,000 soldiers to Russia earlier this year.
In return for North Korea’s provision of troops and weapons, Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with military and economic assistance.
South Korea, the US, and their allies are concerned that Russia may even transfer sensitive technologies that could enhance North Korea’s nuclear program.
In its briefing on Thursday, the NIS reported its belief that Russia has provided North Korea with air defense systems, electronic jamming equipment, and technological expertise for space rocket engines, drones, and missile guidance systems, along with unspecified economic assistance.
