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- The Barrage ceremony: how Korean sappers are helping to clear mines from the Kursk region
The Barrage ceremony: how Korean sappers are helping to clear mines from the Kursk region
In the Kursk region, on the territories of several districts at once, the enemy who fled in the spring of 2025 left behind a large number of explosive objects. The enemy is still trying to mine the area, already with the help of drones. Fighters of the Russian engineering troops and military sappers of the DPRK are fighting the mine danger in the frontline region today side by side. A correspondent of Izvestia learned about how these dangerous works are going on.
Morning ceremony and work at the turn
A group of journalists arrived in one of the border areas of the Kursk region in the early morning, at dusk. This is largely due to security measures. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, as noted in our military department, continue to attack Russian territories with drones. However, it is difficult to control the drone at this hour. The weather also came to the rescue — it was raining, accompanied by gusty winds. Anyway, we were safe for a while.
Jumping off the back of a military truck, we saw a small formation of Korean People's Army soldiers. Despite the bad weather and the early hour, they were all in good spirits and smiling.
At this time, they began to be instructed and assigned a combat mission by the commander, which are accompanied by a daily ritual of honoring their country.
It looks quite simple, but at the same time it is very solemn. Each soldier in turn leaves the ranks and, kneeling, puts his cheek to the National Flag of the DPRK. All this doesn't last long — the sappers have plenty of work to do. Following the fighters, we are moving to the so-called mine clearance line.
All the actions of the sappers are very well-established. A group of military personnel, carefully listening to the instructions of the commander, carefully examines the wooded area. When a dangerous object is found, the soldiers signal this by marking the location with a mine pointer with a red flag. Such well-coordinated and skillful actions are explained by preliminary preparation.
With the help of "Urans" and "Stalkers"
Sappers of the Korean People's Army are distributed among the districts of the region as part of mine clearance units equipped with modern means of reconnaissance and search for explosive objects.
"Each soldier is equipped with a protective suit from the OVR—2-02 combined arms mine clearance kit, and a sapper's protective shoes are on his feet," said the commander of the Russian sapper battalion with the call sign Lesnik.
According to him, minefields are particularly dangerous — they have a mixed type of installation with a chaotic mining step.
— Some ammunition is installed singly or in pairs in places such as slopes, ditches, roadsides. A large number of mines were installed by the enemy for non-detection using booby traps and improvised explosive devices," the specialist clarifies.
Korean military sappers are actively using modern Russian robotic complexes Uran-6 and Stalker-IV for mine clearance.
"These systems show their high efficiency and make it possible to ensure the safety of personnel," the officer emphasizes.
Before performing the tasks directly, all Korean military sappers completed additional training at the training centers of the engineering troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
— Classes at the training grounds were conducted by teachers and instructors with combat experience during a special military operation, including during the demining of the territories of the Kursk region. Our military engineers conducted theoretical and practical exercises with the DPRK military personnel in groups and individually with each one in order to transfer to them the invaluable knowledge they had gained," said the commander of the sapper company with the call sign Veles.
Ammunition from all NATO countries
At the training grounds, the Korean military sappers got acquainted with engineering ammunition manufactured by NATO countries and improvised explosive devices left by the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the Kursk region, and safety rules when performing tasks to search and clear areas and facilities of explosives.
The company officer shows different types of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, artillery and cluster munitions defused by Korean sappers.
— All the ammunition of the NATO countries is here: anti-tank, anti-personnel mines and various artillery munitions. For example, here is the American Claymore mine and the Ukrainian PVP-50, an analog of our MON-50. And this one is also an anti—personnel guided missile. More precisely, the high-explosive Finnish mine Hailstorm is a "Forest downpour". There is a magnetic mine nearby, a cluster munition. There is also a Spanish mine, which directly violates the Geneva Convention. It takes only 5 kg of effort, and it is "initiated". There's nothing left of anyone," Velez explains.
According to him, special attention was paid to tactical medicine classes at the preparatory courses, where each serviceman learned how to provide first aid to himself and his comrade in a timely manner. The sappers worked out ways to get to the wounded man and move him to a safe place.
— Now we can confidently say that Korean military sappers apply their skills on a daily basis and gain real experience in clearing mines in areas affected by the actions of the Ukrainian Nazis. Upon completion of the tasks, it will be possible to further restore socially significant facilities and infrastructure necessary for establishing a peaceful life and economic activity in the region," Veles summed up.
"Together with our brothers"
Alexey Spiridonov, the head of the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region, noted that his area was exposed to the greatest mine and explosive pollution.
— The guys carry out the mine clearance task on a daily basis. They have a lot of work to do. To date, Korean sappers have discovered and defused a huge number of explosive objects. It's amazing! And here we clearly understand how NATO, Western countries and Ukraine act abominably," he says. — The guys from the DPRK are taking a responsible approach to this process. I am sincerely grateful to them and hope that closer to the spring of next year we will safely begin the sowing campaign in our area.
In turn, the head of the Bolshesoldatsky district, Vladimir Zaitsev, noted that all residents of the district understand how much damage has been done to our territories.
— The arrival and destruction of enemy drones were observed almost throughout the entire area. We have 64 settlements, 37 of which are still prohibited from entering by civilians. Today, our friends from the DPRK have come to our aid, gradually providing security for us. Together with the Russian military, they perform a huge and important task. We are infinitely grateful to them for this! They are absolute heroes for us! — said Zaitsev.
According to Nikolai Volobuev, the head of the Belovsky district of the Kursk region, the local administration has built effective cooperation with military units in the district.
— The main common goal is the demining of territories. Immediately after the liberation of Suji, Russian military personnel, together with our brothers from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, are conducting such work. Thanks to this, we managed to harvest in full. Autumn field work on harvesting soybeans and corn is currently underway, and winter crops have been sown," the official explained.
According to him, the district administration is in constant contact with the sappers, as unexploded ordnance and drone debris are found regularly.
— The guys come at the first call and carry out mine clearance, — said the head of the district. — At such moments, it is sometimes possible to communicate with the Korean sappers through an interpreter. They give the impression of good-natured, sympathetic people. You know, they're such tough, resilient fighters.
We are grateful to the DPRK military personnel who assist in the clearance of vast territories in the region, and to the authorities of the Kursk region.
Relations between Russia and the DPRK have a long history. The USSR remained North Korea's main ally, supplying it with weapons, technology, and political support. Since the 2000s, Moscow and Pyongyang have been looking for new ways of rapprochement. Agreements on trade, energy and security cooperation have laid the foundation for the current level of trust. Therefore, sending North Korean military personnel to Russia was the logical conclusion of this long historical journey. Well, the scale of the consequences of this step is difficult to overestimate.
For the first time in decades, the DPRK military is officially carrying out tasks outside its territory. It can be assumed that this is changing the architecture of regional security in the Far East and globally. Thus, the axis of countries opposing Western sanctions is strengthening, and the global confrontation is taking on new forms.
In general, Russia, represented by the DPRK, has acquired not just unprecedented military support, but a loyal ally. Moreover, the DPRK's resilience is based not on market considerations, but on a well-developed conceptual approach. The country has become a powerful new player on the world stage in the field of security and military affairs. On the part of the leaders of Russia and the DPRK, the mutual interests of cooperation are quite clear, and the goals have been repeatedly formulated.
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