North Korea plans to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region as early as July or August. This move follows last week's meeting where Kim Jong Un reportedly agreed with Russian official Sergei Shoigu to dispatch approximately 6,000 personnel to aid in rebuilding war-torn areas as war continues
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pic/AFP
North Korea is reportedly planning to dispatch thousands of the military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region as early as July or August, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed lawmakers during a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the session.
This development follows a meeting last week in Pyongyang between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu, during which it was reportedly agreed to send approximately 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to aid in rebuilding the war-torn area.
According to news agency AP, Lee said NIS indicated that North Korea has already initiated the recruitment process for the soldiers to be deployed in Russia. He further informed reporters that the NIS noted a precedent, recalling that North Korea's dispatch of combat troops last year occurred about a month after Shoigu's visit to North Korea and the signing of an agreement with Pyongyang officials, reported AP.
In April, both Pyongyang and Moscow announced that their soldiers had fought together to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region. While neither country has disclosed the exact number of North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia, officials from South Korea, the US, and Ukraine had previously stated that North Korea sent around 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last autumn. South Korea subsequently reported that an additional 3,000-4,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to Russia earlier this year.
According to AP, in exchange for the North Korea's provision of troops and weaponry, Russia is widely believed to have offered military and economic assistance to Pyongyang. Concerns are particularly high among South Korea, the US, and their allies that Russia might transfer the sensitive technologies that could bolster North Korea's nuclear programme.
Moreover in its briefing on Thursday, the NIS asserted its belief that Russia has supplied North Korea with air the defence systems, the electronic jamming equipment, and technological expertise for the space rocket engines, drones, and missile guidance, in addition to unspecified economic aid.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have halted Russia's recent advance into the northern Sumy region and have stabilised the front line near the border with Russia, Ukraine's top military commander said Thursday.
(With inputs from AP)
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