Overview

• The deployment includes 1,000 sappers assigned to clear mines and 5,000 military construction workers set to restore roads, bridges and other war-damaged infrastructure.
• Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu formalized the commitment during his June visit to Pyongyang, marking his third trip to North Korea this year.
• The decision builds on the June 2024 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, under which North Korea has already sent around 14,000 combat troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• South Korea, the United States and their allies caution that the new dispatch could violate UN Security Council resolutions and may be tied to Russian transfers of advanced weapons technology.
• Moscow and Pyongyang plan to erect memorials in both countries honoring North Korean soldiers who died during operations in the Kursk region.