North Korea is reportedly planning to dispatch thousands of the military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region as early as July or August, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed lawmakers during a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the session.

This development follows a meeting last week in Pyongyang between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu, during which it was reportedly agreed to send approximately 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to aid in rebuilding the war-torn area.

According to news agency AP, Lee said NIS indicated that North Korea has already initiated the recruitment process for the soldiers to be deployed in Russia. He further informed reporters that the NIS noted a precedent, recalling that North Korea's dispatch of combat troops last year occurred about a month after Shoigu's visit to North Korea and the signing of an agreement with Pyongyang officials, reported AP.