Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un: The further the two rulers are internationally isolated, the closer they get. Now they have apparently signed a contract with Ukraine. In exchange for Russian financial aid, the North Korean dictator would send thousands of construction workers and specialists to the war zone in eastern Ukraine to help with “reconstruction”. The Kremlin wants to keep costs down by hiring workers from North Korea.
According to a report by “Bild”, the workers will be mainly used in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine to rebuild devastated areas, and they must also be “able to defend under special circumstances”.
Kim offered 100,000 “volunteer” soldiers
According to this, it should all be soldiers and officers of the North Korean People’s Army: It should send mainly engineers, but also supply troops and soldiers to be used for decontamination. The question is whether it is actually 100,000 “volunteers” that Kim Jong Un has offered to Russia, Russian state television reported in early August.
Obviously, the deal between North Korea and Russia has been in the works for some time. In July and August, Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora held talks with representatives of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agreement was conditional on North Korea’s recognition of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine. The isolated Asian country did so on July 13 – as the third country after Russia and Syria. Kiev then severed relations with North Korea.
North Koreans ‘of great use’
Since then, however, Russia has intensified its ties to the regime in Pyongyang. In mid-July, Ambassador Matsegora greeted “highly qualified and hard-working Korean construction workers who are willing to work under the toughest conditions”. They could be “of great help” in rebuilding infrastructure in the Donbass, he told pro-Kremlin daily Izvestia. It is unclear when the North Korean pioneers will be deployed.
In any case, this deal should be a win-win situation for Putin and Kim. Russia has suffered significant losses during its invasion, and British intelligence says it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit personnel. Isolated North Korea relies on powerful allies and needs money to fund its costly nuclear program.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
