North Korea has begun sending troops to fight Russia in Ukraine, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said. The South Korean government warned of a “serious security threat.”
This claim came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said based on intelligence information that 10,000 North Korean troops could participate in the war.
President Yoon Seok-yeol convened a security meeting on Friday and said the international community must respond using “all possible means.”
According to the National Intelligence Service, 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia, and anonymous sources told South Korean media that the final number could be closer to 12,000.
This is growing evidence that North Korea is supplying ammunition to Russia, as evidenced by the recent recovery of missiles in the Poltava region of Ukraine.
Moscow and North Korea have also deepened cooperation in recent months. Last week, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday. I call him my ‘closest colleague’..
Blue House Yoon announced that key figures from the National Security Office, the Ministry of Defense, and the National Intelligence Service attended the security meeting that day.
He continued, “(Participants) decided not to ignore this situation and to jointly respond with the international community by mobilizing all possible means.”
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) claim comes just days after a Ukrainian military intelligence source said the Russian military was staffed with North Korean troops.
The BBC has contacted NIS for comment.
On Thursday, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kirillo Budanov claimed that around 11,000 North Korean infantry troops were being trained in eastern Russia to fight in Ukraine.
“They will be ready to fight in Ukraine on November 1,” said Lt. Gen. Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service. said The Warzone website..
He added that North Korea would use Russian equipment and ammunition and that the first group of 2,600 soldiers would be sent to Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukraine has a number of settlements. After the incursions began in August..
Earlier this week, Putin submitted legislation to ratify the military agreement he signed with Kim, which promises that Russia and North Korea will help each other in case of “aggression” against either country.
The National Intelligence Service said North Korean troops are training at Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Blagoveshchensk.
This appears to confirm information that a military source in Russia’s Far East told BBC Russian this week that “several North Korean troops have arrived” and are stationed at one of the military bases near Ussuriysk.
The National Intelligence Service also released aerial photos of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where hundreds of North Korean soldiers are said to have gathered, and photos of North Korea’s Chongjin Port, where Russian ships are known to be carrying North Korean soldiers.
The National Intelligence Service announced that it had confirmed that North Korea had sent 13,000 containers loaded with artillery shells, missiles, and anti-tank rockets to Russia since last August.
It was revealed that as many as 8 million 122mm and 152mm shells were supplied to Russia.
However, some military experts believe that the Russian military will have difficulty deploying North Korean troops to the front lines.
Aside from the language barrier, the North Korean military is said to have no recent experience in combat operations.
“They will be able to protect some sections of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which will allow Russian units to fight elsewhere,” said Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of a Ukrainian publication. Defense Express.
“I would like to rule out the possibility of these units appearing on the front lines immediately.”
Additional coverage by J. Kwon and Ho-su Lee from Seoul
