Image Credentials: Image Title: North Korea to Send Thousands of Military Workers to Russia, Alarming U.S. and South Korea Source: (sora.chatgpt) Date: June 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (sora.chatgpt), it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Staff Writer with Agencies, International Desk | June 18, 2025
North Korea plans to dispatch thousands of military personnel to Russia’s war-torn Kursk region, drawing sharp criticism from the United States and South Korea amid escalating concerns over deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu revealed Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to send up to 6,000 military workers to aid reconstruction and demining operations in the region, which had previously been under Ukrainian control for months.
Shoigu, who was in Pyongyang on a diplomatic mission ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the deployment includes 1,000 military engineers tasked with removing landmines and 5,000 construction personnel to rebuild infrastructure damaged in Ukrainian strikes.
“The North has committed significant manpower to assist our efforts in Kursk,” Shoigu told Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency. “Their role is both practical and symbolic in the strengthening of Russian–North Korean military ties.”
This latest development comes after earlier reports of North Korean combat troops being deployed to Russian territory to assist in non-frontline roles. Shoigu praised the “positive exchanges” between Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk, suggesting the cooperation has exceeded military logistics and now embodies a broader alliance.
Shoigu has made multiple visits to Pyongyang this year, with meetings held in March and again in early June. The deployments are reportedly part of broader agreements under a strategic partnership treaty signed by the two nations last year.
The move has alarmed officials in Seoul and Washington. South Korea’s presidential office issued a stern rebuke, declaring that it “strongly opposes” the use of North Korean personnel in a war zone. The country’s foreign ministry called for an “immediate halt” to the military cooperation, calling it a violation of international norms.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department expressed “deep concern,” warning that the influx of North Korean workers and troops not only supports Russia’s war in Ukraine but also funds North Korea’s banned weapons programs.
“This cooperation directly violates UN Security Council resolutions and financially enables North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction,” a U.S. official stated.
North Korea is currently under heavy international sanctions due to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Sending workers abroad, especially military personnel, to earn foreign currency is prohibited under those sanctions, making this deployment a significant diplomatic flashpoint.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, the growing Moscow–Pyongyang axis is emerging as a new geopolitical challenge for the West, raising the specter of a broader alliance between authoritarian states seeking to circumvent sanctions and project power beyond their borders.
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