N Korea sends 6,000 military workers and sappers to Russia’s Kursk region
North Korea’s strongman Kim Jong-un is strengthening his regime’s military and economic ties with Moscow, sending more manpower to Russia. A year after Moscow and Pyongyang signed a defence treaty, North Korean losses in the Ukraine war are up.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – After sending soldiers, North Korea will send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 military sappers to Russia’s Kursk region; meanwhile, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, General Sergei Shoigu, met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.
Russian media today reported that Shoigu is in the North Korean capital for the second time in a month on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, almost a year after the two countries signed a defence pact, which allowed the deployment of North Korean troops along Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
Recent estimates by the UK Ministry of Defence suggest that at least 6,000 North Koreans have put out of combat fighting for Russia so far, up from over 5,000 posted two months ago.
“Significant DPRK casualty rates have almost certainly been sustained primarily through large, highly attritional dismounted assaults,” the UK ministry wrote.
In late April, South Korea’s intelligence service reported that North Korea had suffered up to 4,700 casualties, including about 600 deaths. Again according to South Korean sources, Pyongyang sent 3,000 soldiers to Russia this year alone.
As the anniversary of the mutual defence agreement approaches, 19 June, the rumour mill suggests that Kim Jong-un might visit Russia for a summit with Putin.
The North Korean leader is also expected to attend the Eastern Economic Forum, scheduled for September in Vladivostok, near the border with North Korea.
A recent report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) – made up of experts from 11 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan – found that North Korea has become a major source of missiles, ammunition, and soldiers for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The alliance between the two countries, in defiance of international sanctions, has grown closer in the past year.
The MSPT, which investigates violations of United Nations sanctions, noted that last year North Korea “transferred to Russia at least 100 ballistic missiles, which were subsequently launched into Ukraine to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia”.
The panel, which has investigated violations of United Nations sanctions against North Korea, also found that Pyongyang “deployed over 11,000 troops into eastern Russia in late 2024, which were moved to the far-western Kursk Oblast where they began engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
According to the monitoring team, the North Korean regime received military assistance in return, including “advanced electronic warfare systems”.
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12/02/2016 15:14
25/04/2019 16:28
