North Korean troops bolster Russian ranks in Ukrainian conflict
Another group of North Korean soldiers is set to be deployed to Russia, Bloomberg reported on Friday, having accessed South Korean intelligence documents. According to information from Ukrainian services, the first North Korean soldiers are already fighting in Ukraine within the ranks of the Russian army.
South Korean intelligence suspects that North Koreans would reach the front after training that should not last more than a month. The preparations for these new recruits of the Russian army are to take place in military centres in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Blagoveshchensk, Bloomberg reported.
Moscow and Pyongyang admit cooperation
Furthermore, also on Friday, North Korean authorities declared that any move to send troops from Pyongyang to Russia in order to support its military actions in Ukraine would be consistent with international law.
Until now, both Russia and North Korea had denied reports of North Korean soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
12,000 Pyongyang soldiers in Russia
The military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has greatly expanded since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war with Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intelligence, only 30% of the ammunition fired by the Russians originates from their own country. The largest share, 60%, is of North Korean production, and the remaining 10% comes from Iran.
The United States and South Korea revealed that in October, at least 3,000 soldiers were transported from North Korea to Russia, and by the end of the year, Pyongyang is expected to transfer 10,000 troops there.
On Thursday, Japanese and Ukrainian media reported that approximately 2,000 North Korean soldiers, who completed training at ranges in the Russian Far East, are being transported by train to the European part of the country, near the border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Friday on the Telegram communication platform that North Korean soldiers will be integrated into fighting in the Kursk region in western Russia on Sunday or Monday, based on intelligence data.
