Approximately 11,000 North Korean military personnel are currently stationed in Russia's Kursk region, according to Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, in an interview with The War Zone.
Budanov highlighted the recent visit of Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu to North Korea, where he negotiated the deployment of so-called labor migrants to Russia. These workers are intended to partially replace Central Asian migrants, whom Moscow sees as unstable and vulnerable to recruitment by Ukrainian and Western intelligence services.
“There is a big probability that people among this labor migrant, they will start to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Russia. And it wouldn’t be the warriors from North Korea. It would be Russian warriors, but of North Korean nationality.,” Budanov said.
When asked how many North Korean labor migrants are expected to travel to Russia, Budanov noted that the agreement was only recently made and Ukraine does not yet have precise numbers.
“We would like to answer that question. But we need to confirm the exact number who will arrive in Russia,” he added.
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