The Telegraph: North Korean troops help Russian army clear mines from battlefield VIDEO

North Korean troops have been sent to Ukraine to help the Russian army clear mines from the battlefield. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said Russia was "grateful to our friends" in North Korea "for their selfless, heroic assistance", The Telegraph recalls.

As part of a mutual defense pact between the two countries, North Korea last year sent some 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Kursk, with more than 6,000 of them killed, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources.

Now, North Korea's significant role in Russia's mine clearance operations underscores the desire of both sides to further develop their military ties, which, according to a statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month, will "continue without interruption".

""They are great guys, they learn quickly, they listen carefully and take notes", says a Russian commander with the call sign "Veles".

The Russian Defense Ministry has released videos showing sees North Korean soldiers being shown various types of mines and mine detection equipment, participating in training exercises, and singing patriotic songs.

The area where North Korean soldiers are currently working on demining is located in Kursk Oblast, right on the border with Ukraine and just north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv – the same area where the DPRK troops were stationed.

Kursk saw some of the fiercest fighting between Russia and Ukraine, including the first-ever firing of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles by Ukrainian soldiers into Russian territory, as Britain had previously only permitted their use on Ukrainian territory due to concerns of a wider escalation.

Ukrainian forces launched a massive assault on Kursk in August 2024, resulting in one of their biggest battlefield victories since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Russia sent in reserve troops, and around 200,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes.

The Ukrainian army managed to hold a significant portion of the territory for months, but Russia eventually gained the upper hand with the help of North Korean troops deployed in October 2024.

Russian media reported that Ukrainian forces had left behind an "unprecedented density" of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, meaning some areas remain too dangerous for civilians to return to their homes.

Ukrainian military intelligence also noted that North Korea has begun domestic production of small, short-range, first-person view drones, as well as larger, medium-range battlefield attack drones.

“They are learning, studying their experience (in this war) to expand production on their own territory,” Major General Vadym Skibytsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, told Reuters in an interview.

North Korea has also sent millions of artillery shells to Russia, although some of the supplies were so old that they had to be upgraded at Russian factories before they could be used on the battlefield, Skibytsky noted.

He estimates that from Since 2023, North Korea has sent a total of 6.5 million artillery shells to Russia - support that has allowed Pyongyang to strengthen its ties with Moscow - although the number of shipments has begun to decline as Russia's stockpiles run low.

North Korea has acknowledged its involvement in Ukraine but has not provided details about its role or confirmed the exact number of casualties.