North Korea has started deploying troops to Russia to engage in the war against Ukraine on Russia’s side, according to South Korea’s intelligence agency, following Seoul’s warning of a “grave security threat.”
The allegation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that 10,000 North Korean troops could join Russia’s war based on Ukrainian military intelligence data.
South Korea’s intelligence detected transportation of North Korean special forces to Russia
On October 18, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that North Korea has already sent 1,500 special forces to the war zone in Ukraine to help Russia. They have arrived in Rusisa, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korea’s national intelligence service said it had “detected the transportation of North Korean special forces to Russian territory using Russian naval transport ships. The agency claimed that four landing ships and three Russian escort ships have transported 1,500 North Korean troops to Vladivostok from North Korea. The second transportation operation is expected to take place shortly.
According to a South Korean intelligence source, North Korea expects to send about 12,000 troops to participate in Russia’s war in Ukraine, including four brigades of its special operations forces, the 11th Army Group, and the so-called Storm Corps.
11,000 North Korean troops will be ready to join combat operations in November – head of Ukrainian military intelligence
The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that about 11,000 North Korean troops are currently undergoing training in eastern Russia. According to Budanov, they will be ready to participate in the fighting against Ukraine as early as November 1.
Budanov noted that these troops will be ready for combat operations from November 1, using Russian equipment and ammunition. The first unit of 2,600 soldiers is expected to be deployed to Russia’s Kursk region.
There is no information yet on further plans for the relocation of the rest of the North Korean troops, Budanov said.
North Korean troops to complete their training in Russia’s Far East
The Russian military bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Blagoveshchensk currently house the North Korean troops in Russia, according to South Korean intelligence. Once they complete their acclimatization training, they are expected to be deployed to the frontlines in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The North Korean troops have been handed over Russian military uniforms and Russian-produced weapons, as well as fake IDs of people of Yakutia-Buryatia in Siberia who look like North Koreans, according to the report.
In response to this report, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called a security meeting and stated that the international community must respond with “all available means.”
Key officials from South Korea’s National Security Office, the Ministry of National Defense, and the National Intelligence Service attended the security meeting, according to Yoon’s office.
According to the South Korean military intelligence, 1,500 troops have arrived in Russia, with anonymous sources telling South Korean media the final figure could be closer to 12,000.
Since August, North Korea has sent 13,000 shipping containers containing shells, missiles, and anti-armor projectiles to the Russian Federation, according to the NIS.
North Korea is supplying Russia with ammunition
This development comes as evidence mounts that the North Korean regime is supplying Putin’s regime with balystic missiles and ammunition, as recently shown by the recovery of a missile in the Poltava region in Ukraine.
Over recent months, Russia and North Korea have also been deepening their military cooperation. Last week, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un greeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin on his birthday, referring to him as his “closest comrade.”
Earlier, Russian leader Putin introduced a bill to ratify a military pact he made with North Korean counterpart Kim, which pledges that Russia and North Korea will assist each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.
