Shoigu of Russia: "North Korea to dispatch a total of 6,000 engineers and military construction personnel to Russia"

Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, announced on the 17th (local time) that "Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, has decided to dispatch a total of 6,000 engineering troops and military construction personnel to Kursk Oblast, Russia."

According to RIA Novosti, Shoigu, who visited North Korea on this day, said this to Russian media reporters in Pyongyang after meeting with Kim.

He explained that 1,000 engineering troops would be dispatched from North Korea to remove mines planted in Russian territory, and 5,000 military construction personnel would be sent to rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Ukrainian attacks.

Previously, North Korea, which sent combat troops to Kursk, Russia, will additionally dispatch personnel required for the reconstruction of this region.

Shoigu made another visit to Pyongyang about two weeks after his previous trip to meet Kim again.

He said of this visit, "The main purpose was to discuss security issues, and both sides highly valued exchanges of troops between Russia and North Korea, especially interaction within Kursk."

He also mentioned that on June 19 last year, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, visited North Korea and signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, emphasizing, "The day after tomorrow is the anniversary of the treaty signing. This treaty is being implemented not only on paper but also in actual actions."

He added, "We hope that air flights between Russia and North Korea, which have been suspended for over 30 years, will resume in the near future."

Bobe Lee, Hankyung.com guest reporter newsinfo@hankyung.com