North Korea to send military construction workers, deminers to rebuild Russia’s Kursk region

Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu made the announcement during a visit to Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right) with Russia’s Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on June 4. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Published: 8:15pm, 17 Jun 2025Updated: 11:43am, 18 Jun 2025

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 an 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 as 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.

“Following the expulsion of invaders from Russian soil, we’ve agreed to continue our constructive cooperation, with the Korean side providing assistance in the restoration of the Kursk region,” Shoigu said, according to RIA Novosti. “This is a kind of brotherly aid being sent by the Korean people and their leader, Kim Jong-un, to our country.”

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 discussed rebuilding the Kursk region, according to Russian state media.

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