North Korea has deployed 1,500 soldiers to Russia for military training, with plans to send up to 12,000 troops to fight in the Ukraine war, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has confirmed.
A video released by the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security shows a line of North Korean soldiers receiving uniforms at a training ground in Russia's far east. While the audio quality of the video limited clarity, the soldiers appeared to be communicating in Korean. Upon their arrival, recruits filled out questionnaires to provide sizes for their military attire, reported CNN. Another video showed troops arriving at the Sergeevka Training Ground, near the Russian-Chinese border. A voice in the background was allegedly heard saying, “We can't film them… Here are the new reinforcements. This is just the beginning. There are more.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that “thousands” of North Korean soldiers are en route to Russia, as per CNN. According to Zelensky, intelligence suggests that the North is preparing to deploy up to 10,000 soldiers, comprising various military specialities. “From intelligence that I have... they are preparing 10,000 soldiers, different soldiers, land forces, technical personnel,” he said during a recent NATO summit.
Evidence is mounting that North Korea is also supplying Russia with ammunition. Recent reports by the BBC include the recovery of a missile in Ukraine's Poltava region.
The deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang was exemplified last week when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as his “closest comrade” on Putin's birthday.
South Korean intelligence sources have also claimed that Russian forces are organising a unit of North Korean troops. Ukrainian military intelligence, led by Kyrylo Budanov, noted that nearly 11,000 North Korean infantry are currently training in eastern Russia, ready to be deployed by November 1. They are expected to use Russian equipment and ammunition, with an initial group of 2,600 soldiers slated to be sent to the Kursk region.
The NIS has reported that North Korean troops are training at various bases in Russia, including Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. They have released aerial photographs confirming the presence of North Korean troops at these locations and identified shipping activity involving Russian vessels transporting soldiers from North Korea.
Since August, North Korea has allegedly sent around 13,000 shipping containers of military supplies to Russia, including millions of artillery shells, missiles and anti-armour rockets. Russia has received up to eight million 122-mm and 152-mm artillery shells, they said.
