South Korea’s intelligence agency said Friday that North Korea has sent troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, a move that could escalate the North’s conflict with the West.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a statement on its website that Russian naval vessels transported 1,500 North Korean special operations troops to the port city of Vladivostok between October 8 and 13, where they are currently undergoing training. Ta.
“North Korean soldiers…will 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 said North Korean soldiers were given Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons and issued with fake ID cards for residents of Yakutia and Buryatia, two regions of Siberia.
The agency said, “It appears that he disguised himself as a Russian soldier to hide the fact that he was sent to the battlefield.”
The NIS also released satellite images and other photos showing the movement of so-called Russian naval vessels near North Korean ports, and large gatherings by North Korea in the Russian Far East cities of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk over the past week. It is suspected that there was
The statement became the most comprehensive official report to date detailing North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. If proven accurate, it would be North Korea’s first major participation in a foreign war.
Additionally, South Korean media reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that North Korea has decided to send 12,000 troops in four brigades to Russia. The National Intelligence Service did not immediately confirm these reports.
The statement came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received intelligence reports that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were preparing to enter the war.
“This is the first step towards a world war,” he told reporters in Brussels.
Russia denies using North Korean troops in the war, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims as “another fake news” in a press conference last week.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Friday that the alliance had not yet been able to confirm information from South Korean intelligence that North Korea was sending large-scale troops.
The Guardian earlier revealed that North Korean military engineers have already been sent to help Russia target Ukraine with ballistic missiles.
A Ukrainian source said: “Behind the Russian lines there are dozens of North Koreans who are part of a team supporting the launch system of the KN-23 missile.”
If confirmed, South Korean intelligence suggests that North Korea plans to participate in the war, and not just send military advisers. The unusual move also highlights Russia’s need to find new military personnel as record casualties are reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time in 2019, in order to counter growing international isolation in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development programs. The two countries have sought to expand military and economic cooperation. . In June, the two leaders signed an agreement that includes a clause obligating them to provide aid to each other if either side is attacked.
Ukrainian sources estimate that North Korea has provided about half of the large-caliber ammunition used on the battlefield this year, or more than 2 million rounds. It also provides KN-23 missiles, which were used in dozens of attacks across Ukraine last winter, Ukrainian media reported.
In return for missiles and other military equipment, North Korea is believed to be seeking cash from Russia as well as support for its spy satellite program, which has suffered a series of embarrassing failures over the past two years.
