South Korea’s secret services, in continuation of previous informationannounced that North Korea has already sent troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.
In a statement on its website, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that Russian naval ships transported 1,500 North Korean special operations forces to the port of Vladivostok between October 8 and 13, which are now in formation.
“North Korean soldiers… are expected to be sent to the front lines as soon as they complete their adaptation training,” the agency said, adding that more North Korean troops are expected to be sent to Russia soon.
The NIS added that North Korean soldiers were given Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons, as well as fake identity cards from residents of two Siberian regions.
“It appears that they disguised themselves as Russian soldiers to hide the fact that they were deployed to the battlefield,” the South Korean sources said.
The NIS also released satellite and other photos showing what it called Russian ship movements near a North Korean port.
The announcements are the most comprehensive and detailed account of North Korean involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. If the information proves accurate, it would represent North Korea’s first major involvement in a third-party war.
Earlier, South Korean media reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that Pyongyang had decided to send a total of 12,000 troops, across four brigades, to Russia.
The announcements came a day after Ukrainian President V. Zelensky said his country had information that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were preparing to go to war.
On Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibyga called for an “immediate and strong reaction” from Kiev’s allies. “Russia is seriously intensifying its aggression by engaging North Korea,” he said. “We demand an immediate and strong reaction from the Euro-Atlantic community and the world.”
Russia denies using North Korean troops in the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the allegations last week as “yet another fake news.”
Furthermore, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Friday that the Alliance could not yet confirm to South Korean intelligence services that North Korea is sending troops on a large scale to Russia.
A Guardian publication, however, claims that North Korean military engineers have already been deployed to help Russia develop ballistic missiles.
A Ukrainian source told British media: “There are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in groups supporting KN-23 missile launch systems.”
Pyongyang is estimated to have supplied about half of the large-caliber ammunition used on the battlefield this year, more than 2 million rounds, a Ukrainian source said. It also supplied KN-23 missiles, which were used in dozens of attacks across Ukraine last winter, according to Ukrainian media.
In exchange for its missiles and other military equipment, North Korea is believed to be looking for Russian money as well as help for its satellite spying program, which has suffered several setbacks over the past two years.
With information from the Guardian