DPRK troops in Russia are commanded by Brigadier General Kim Yong Bok
DPRK troops on the side of Russia are commanded by Brigadier General Kim Yong Bok. He is one of the ten most senior military officers in his country.
This was reported by Censor.net with reference to the Wall Street Journal.
He rarely appeared in public, which is generally uncharacteristic of the military elite in North Korea. His service in the DPRK's special forces, however, required discretion and concealment of his identity. He commanded a 200,000-strong special forces unit, which is probably the largest in the world.
But after the DPRK troops entered the war on the side of the Russians, he became very famous. Sending a military officer of this magnitude may indicate that Pyongyang is signaling to Russia that this operation is important to it.
South Korea and Ukraine have confirmed the presence of this general in Russia. It is believed that the deputy chief of staff was supposed to integrate the DPRK and Russian troops, study the battlefield, and then return home to plan further actions.
"There were more reasons to hide him until now. But behind the curtain, he has obviously proved his reliability," commented Jeong Kyung, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis (South Korea).
He became the head of the DPRK Special Forces in 2015.
According to observers in Pyongyang, successful service in Russia could advance his career. The last mention of General Bok in the North Korean media was on October 6, and a few days later he apparently left for Russia with the first group of troops.
As a reminder, the Pentagon confirmed the presence of about 11,000 North Korean troops in the Kursk region of Russia as of November 19.
