North Korea to send engineering troops to occupied Donetsk
North Korea will send its engineering troops to the occupied territories of Ukraine.
North Korea will sign an agreement on "automatic military aid" with Russia and send engineering troops to occupied Donetsk as early as next month. This was reported by the South Korean TV channel TV Chosun.
According to the exclusive information from the TV channel, North Korean soldiers will be sent to the occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine as early as next month.
The North Korean troops, part of the engineering forces, will assist in reconstruction projects, which will be of great significance as they are not ordinary construction workers but a full-fledged military unit wearing insignia, the report said.
They are also expected to be paid high salaries, making them a lucrative source of foreign exchange for North Korea.
North Korea is expected to send a large number of engineering troops to Donetsk as early as next month to rebuild the battle-ravaged city," a South Korean government official told the TV channel.
North Korea has previously sent its engineering soldiers to various locations overseas, including the Middle East, where they masquerade as employees of companies such as Namgang Construction but are tightly controlled by the military.
With Putin and Kim signing a pact that almost amounts to "automatic military intervention," the implication is that a North Korean "deployment" to a belligerent Russia is imminent.
Russia is experiencing labor shortages due to war dead, conscripts, and draft dodgers. Various types of cooperation, including military cooperation, have been institutionally established between the two countries," Cho Han Bom, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said.
According to him, engineer soldiers who are sent to serve overseas earn about $800 a month, a way for North Korea to earn foreign currency.
Earlier Socportal reported that the DPRK troops will become "cannon fodder" if they are sent to fight in Ukraine together with Russian troops. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said this at a briefing on 25 June.