North Korea pledges combat engineers, construction crews to Russia during Shoigu visit

According to Radio Svoboda, the announcement followed talks in Pyongyang between Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Regional authorities report that around 5,000 square kilometers of the Kursk region — roughly one-sixth of its total area — have been mined since a Ukrainian military operation began there in August last year. By the end of 2024, over 1,300 industrial sites, 400 public facilities, and more than 1,100 kilometers of roads had been destroyed. It remains unclear how much of this damage has been repaired.

Shoigu’s visit to Pyongyang was his second in a month and coincided with the anniversary of the Russia–North Korea partnership agreement signed by the two countries’ leaders. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has effectively stopped complying with international sanctions against North Korea, including restrictions on employing North Korean laborers and engaging in military-technical cooperation.

• Russia’s growing dependence on North Korean arms reveals critical shortages and supply issues, as Pyongyang’s unique weapons increasingly fill gaps in Moscow’s depleted military stockpiles amid the war in Ukraine.