DPRK sends 3,000 troops to Russia to participate in war with Ukraine - South Korean intelligence
According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia, and this number is expected to increase.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Reuters.
Pyongyang has promised to provide Russia with a total of about 10,000 troops, the deployment of which is expected to be completed by December, lawmakers told reporters after a briefing by South Korea's national intelligence agency.
"Signs of troop training in North Korea were detected in September and October," said Park Soon-won, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, after the briefing. "It seems that the troops are now dispersed across several training bases in Russia and are adapting to the local environment."
Earlier, Seoul's National Intelligence Service reported that North Korea had sent about 1,500 special forces troops to Russia by ship, and they are likely to be deployed to participate in the war in Ukraine after training and acclimatization.
It is also noted that the Pyongyang authorities tried to prevent the spread of news about the stay of their soldiers in Russia. "There are signs that the North Korean authorities are moving and isolating these families (of the military) in a certain place to effectively control them and thoroughly deal with rumors," the intelligence service said.
It has also been confirmed that Russia has hired a "large number" of interpreters for North Korean soldiers, teaching them how to use military equipment such as drones.
"Russian instructors estimate that the North Korean army has excellent physical qualities and morale, but lacks an understanding of modern warfare, such as drone attacks," said a member of the South Korean parliament.
DPRK military participation in Russia's war against Ukraine
On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was training ten thousand North Korean soldiers for the war in Ukraine, including infantry.
Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that several thousand soldiers from the DPRK are being trained in Russia and may be sent to the front in Ukraine.
To recap, in early October, South Korean Defense 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 Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, said that the information about Russia's alleged preparation of DPRK soldiers to be sent to the front in Ukraine was not true.
On October 15, 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.
Subsequently, the head of the Defense Intelligence Service, Kyrylo 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 November 1.
At the same time, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States has not yet confirmedthat North Korea is sending troops to Russia.
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul because of the DPRK's participation in the war against Ukraine.
It was reported that eighteen North Korean soldiers had already escaped from the Russian army positions on the border of Ukraine with Bryansk and Kursk regions. Later it became known that they had been detained.
South Korea's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Jongkook Hwang, said that Russia could pay for the participation of North Korea's military in the war against Ukraine with nuclear weapons technology.
And The Guardian wrote that Russia may send North Korean troops to capture Pokrovsk in Donetsk region or to conduct winter assaults on other important areas on Ukraine's eastern front.
