North Korean Mine Warfare Units Seen in Action Clearing Russia’s Kursk Region After Ukrainian Assault

New images have shown North Korean mine warfare teams operating in the Russian Kursk region, where they are tasked with clearing mines left by Ukrainian and allied Western forces. A Ukrainain-led incursion into Kursk was launched in August 2024, and was decisively repelled only in April the following year with the assistance of the Korean People’s Army. North Korean engineers were seen equipped with Russian VR-2-02 combat uniforms, Saiga-12K shotguns, RPK-74 automatic rifles, AK-74M rifles, and a wide range of mine clearance equipment. The personnel retain arms due to the persistent threat of Ukrainian drone attacks, with their armament considered optimal for defence against small unmanned aircraft. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in June first confirmed plans for the Korean People’s Army to dispatch 1000 mine clearance experts and 5000 military engineers to support de-mining and reconstruction efforts in Kursk.

The Ukrainian-led assault on Kursk has notably included personnel from a number of NATO members including Poland and the United States, such as those from the U.S. Forward Observation Group contractor organisation, which published photographs on social media announcing its involvement. Russian officials have been particularly outspoken in expressing gratitude for the Korean People’s Army’s intervention to support the country’s war effort against Ukraine and its supporters, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in July stating: “the heroic soldiers of the the Korean People’s Army together with the Russian servicemen brought closer the liberation of Kursk Region with the cost of their blood and even their lives.”He added that monument to the Korean People’s Army personnel who fought in Kursk would be erected in Russia, under an initiative that was “fully backed by our North Korean friends.”

The North Korea’s defence sector has played an increasingly central role in helping to sustain Russia’s ongoing war effort, with nearly half of artillery rounds used by the Russian Army being of North Korean origin by the second quarter of 2025. Many Russian artillery units having come to rely almost entirely on Korean ammunition, with at least six Russian Army artillery units by the middle of the year sourcing between 50 and 100 percent of their munitions from North Korea. Sources from both sides have indicated that training levels among North Korean personnel have remained significantly higher than those across much of the Russian Army, which has made the country’s manpower support particularly invaluable.