Alexander Khinshtein, governor of Russia’s Kursk region, said in a televised interview on Tuesday that North Korean troops are assisting with mine-clearing efforts along the border with Ukraine.
“Representatives of the Korean People’s Army have played a vital role in clearing the border area. Today, they are deeply engaged in demining efforts, which are crucial for the future reconstruction and security of the region,” Khinshtein stated.
The governor said the “camaraderie between the Russian and Korean peoples compels us to forge a unique partnership with North Korea.” To that end, he said a plan is under development to designate the city of Kaesong in North Korea as a “sister city” to Kursk.
Kursk was counter-invaded by Ukrainian forces in August 2024, 18 months after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russians were taken completely by surprise, allowing Ukrainian forces to take and hold positions deep inside Kursk province.
In desperation, the Russians turned to North Korea for cannon fodder. Pyongyang sent about 12,000 troops to help the Russians recapture Kursk, a deployment both Russia and North Korea denied for months until finally providing official confirmation in April 2025. The Russian government announced Kursk had been recaptured from Ukrainian forces in the same month.
According to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, his forces were sent to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”
Kim declared the North Korean soldiers, who seemed baffled by modern drone warfare and took heavy losses in Kursk, to be “heroes of the motherland.” The North Korean regime held a ceremony to honor them in August 2025.
Khinshtein, who was appointed acting governor of Kursk by President Vladimir Putin in December, said on Tuesday that the border between Kursk and Ukraine remains “contaminated with land mines, unexploded ordnance, aerial bombs, and shells,” necessitating an extensive de-mining operation.
Khinshtein’s predecessor as governor, Alexey Smirnov, resigned due to public anger over his handling of the Ukrainian counter-invasion, particularly his failure to evacuate civilians from the occupied territory.
The North Korean government said in June it would send thousands of military construction workers to assist with rebuilding Kursk, including experts at mine removal. According to Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, the North Korean force would include about 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers, or mine removal technicians.
“Following the expulsion of invaders from Russian soil, we’ve agreed to continue our constructive cooperation, with the Korean side providing assistance in the restoration of the Kursk region. This is a kind of brotherly aid being sent by the Korean people and their leader, Kim Jong Un, to our country,” Shoigu said in June.
Khinshtein confirmed the arrival of the “comrades-in-arms from North Korea” in early September, calling it “the first step toward rebuilding infrastructure damaged in the fighting.”
The mine-clearing process officially began in March, but it was evidently proceeding at a slow pace. Shortly before the North Korean support personnel arrived, two local men were killed by stepping on a land mine near the Ukraine border. Khinshtein said a state media camera operator was wounded by another landmine several days before the fatal incident.
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