In a deepening show of solidarity, North Korea has pledged to send thousands of military personnel to assist Russia in rebuilding the Kursk region, following a Ukrainian cross-border incursion repelled earlier this year with the help of North Korean troops.
The commitment was announced on Tuesday by Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. Shoigu said the effort was in response to “special instructions” from Putin and formed part of a growing strategic partnership between the two nations.
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 4, 2025, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA/File Photo
High-Level Talks in Pyongyang Signal Growing Alliance
Shoigu revealed that Kim has committed to dispatching 1,000 North Korean sappers to help demine the affected areas in Kursk and 5,000 military construction workers to begin restoring infrastructure destroyed during the fighting. “I think this work will begin in the near future,” Shoigu said, noting that some areas would require extensive demining before reconstruction could begin.
The two-hour meeting between Shoigu and Kim marks their second in just over two weeks. It follows Shoigu’s announcement that the first direct train between Moscow and Pyongyang since 2020 had recently departed, with plans underway to resume direct flights—suspended for more than three decades—between the two capitals.
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departs Pyongyang, North Korea, to visit Russia, September 10, 2023, in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency on September 12, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA./File Photo
The talks come amid heightened scrutiny from the West, with the United States, South Korea, and Ukraine accusing North Korea of providing significant military support to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. While neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has formally acknowledged such transfers, a Reuters investigation in April uncovered massive shipments of North Korean artillery shells reaching the front lines by sea and rail.
Shoigu confirmed that his visit was also tied to the strategic partnership treaty signed by Kim and Putin in June 2024, which includes a mutual defense clause. That agreement has been cited by Moscow as the legal basis for North Korea’s earlier deployment of combat troops to Kursk, where British intelligence estimates over 6,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded. Pyongyang has not released official casualty figures.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un attend a meeting at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Artem Geodakyan/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
In their discussions, Kim and Shoigu reportedly covered a range of issues including U.S.-Russia relations, the war in Ukraine, and regional tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Shoigu also presented Kim with a personal message from Putin, the contents of which were not disclosed.
A video released by Russia’s state-run Rossiiskaya Gazeta captured Kim greeting Shoigu warmly upon arrival in Pyongyang. “Two weeks have passed and we are meeting again,” Kim said with a smile. Shoigu replied, “The president’s instruction must be fulfilled,” signaling the urgency and strategic importance Moscow places on its alliance with Pyongyang.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Plans are also underway for a memorial complex in Pyongyang to honor North Korean troops who died during the battle for Kursk, Shoigu noted.
In a message last week, Kim referred to Putin as his “dearest comrade” and described their relationship as a “genuine relationship between comrades-in-arms.”
As both countries continue to deepen military and diplomatic ties in opposition to what they describe as a “hostile West,” their cooperation is likely to remain under close watch by the international community.
