North Korea to send 6,000 troops to Russia for reconstruction, says Moscow

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to send 6,000 military engineers and construction troops to Russia’s Kursk region — an area formerly occupied by Ukraine — according to Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who is currently in Pyongyang.

Speaking to Russian reporters on June 17 following a meeting with Kim, Shoigu said the decision was made as part of a special directive from President Vladimir Putin, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Shoigu explained that 1,000 North Korean engineers will be deployed to clear mines in the region, while 5,000 military construction personnel will assist in rebuilding infrastructure damaged by Ukrainian attacks.

Shoigu added that the two countries also discussed plans to erect a monument to honor North Korean soldiers who participated in military operations during the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Kim’s decision appears to be based on Article 4 of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by North Korea and Russia in June last year, which includes a clause on mutual military assistance during wartime. The dispatch of North Korean troops to the reconstruction of Kursk — which Moscow claims has been attacked by Ukraine — falls within the scope of that provision.

While the troops’ role is currently focused on reconstruction, analysts say the personnel could be redeployed to other Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, such as Donetsk, depending on operational needs.

Experts note that the move had been widely expected since April, when Pyongyang and Moscow publicly acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops in Russia for the first time. The additional deployment aligns with efforts to justify North Korea’s involvement under the treaty’s military aid clause.

According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, North Korea previously sent about 10,900 combat troops late last year and an additional 3,000 between January and March, bringing the total to around 14,000. This latest deployment adds nearly half that number again in engineering units.

Russian state media outlet Tass reported that Shoigu’s latest visit follows up on agreements reached during his earlier trip to Pyongyang on June 4, suggesting that the deployment had already been broadly agreed upon, and his current trip, coming just 13 days later, is to solidify the agreement.

This intensifying offensive comes after a Ukrainian official alleged earlier this month that Russia agreed to support North Korea’s production of suicide drones in exchange for troop deployments. Russia reportedly plans to boost its monthly drone production from 2,000 to 5,000 units, with some output likely being supplied by North Korea, which has been described as Russia’s de facto “military subcontractor.”

The Multinational Sanctions Monitoring Team additionally reported that between January and mid-December last year, North Korea shipped approximately 9 million artillery shells and rockets to Russia in 49 separate shipments via Russian cargo vessels. These developments have fueled growing concern that Pyongyang is cementing its role as a key supplier in Moscow’s wartime logistics network.

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]