South Korea may send military personnel to Ukraine - Newsweek
South Korea may send military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine after the DPRK sent troops to support Russia.
This was reported by Newsweek, Censor.NET reports with reference to UNIAN.
The media quoted a South Korean intelligence official as saying that the government and military of the Republic of Korea are "considering a plan to send an appropriate number of personnel, including intelligence officers specialising in North Korea and experts on enemy tactics" to Ukraine.
South Korean personnel in Ukraine will conduct interrogations or provide translation services if North Korean soldiers are captured by Ukrainian forces. They will also provide Kyiv with information on North Korean military tactics, doctrine and operations.
Later, the South Korean Ministry of Defence said at a press briefing that it would consider measures to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine with an "open mind". Prior to that, Seoul provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid only.
South Korean law prohibits its citizens from participating in military operations abroad without special permission from the government. South Korea also has restrictions on arms exports and the participation of its citizens in military operations outside the country. Seoul does not export weapons to countries that are in active conflict, such as Ukraine.
DPRK military in Russia
On 17 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was training ten thousand North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine, including infantry.
Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that several thousand soldiers from the DPRK are undergoing training in Russia and may be sent to the frontline in Ukraine.
In early October, South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said that the DPRK could send its military to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in support of Russia's war against our country.
The head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, said that the information about Russia's alleged preparation of soldiers from the DPRK to be sent to the frontline in Ukraine is not true.
On 15 October, the media reported that on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian occupation army, the Russians began to form a so-called "special Buryat battalion". It will be staffed by North Korean citizens.
Later, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, said that nearly 11,000 soldiers from North Korea are currently training in eastern Russia to fight against Ukraine. They will be ready for combat as early as 1 November.
At the same time, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States has not yet confirmed that North Korea is sending troops to Russia.
South Korea summons Russia's ambassador to Seoul over the DPRK's involvement in the war against Ukraine.
It was reported that eighteen North Korean soldiers had already escaped from the Russian army's positions on Ukraine's border with Bryansk and Kursk regions.
Later it became known that they had been detained.
