North Korean military engineers are helping Russian forces clear mines in the Kursk region, according to acting governor Alexander Khinshtein.
He said during a televised election debate that the effort is the first step toward restoring infrastructure damaged in earlier clashes, NK News reported.
Much of the cleanup is a direct response to the Ukrainian incursion, during which forces briefly crossed into Kursk, leaving behind explosives and damaged roads, buildings, and other critical facilities.
Russian authorities estimate that sappers in the Kursk region have cleared more than 185,000 mines and explosive devices since August 2024.
Demining operations have covered at least 37,500 hectares (92,665 acres), 767 kilometers (477 miles) of roads, and over 30 settlements, according to official figures.
North Korean Casualties
Days before Khinshtein’s update, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told a parliamentary hearing that Seoul’s National Intelligence Service estimates roughly 2,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia have been killed.
Lee added that North Korea is preparing to dispatch another 6,000 personnel, including engineers, with about 1,000 combat engineers already on Russian soil.
Pyongyang acknowledged in April that it had deployed troops to Russia and confirmed some had been killed. State media then released images of leader Kim Jong Un consoling bereaved families and meeting soldiers returning from the front.
The deployments come after Russia and North Korea signed a defense agreement last year during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, formalizing closer military cooperation as Moscow seeks additional manpower and munitions for its war in Ukraine.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024, mainly to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems.
