As Seoul issued a “severe security threat” warning, South Korea’s spy service reported that North Korea had begun sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine. The accusation was made the day after Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, stated that, according to intelligence reports, he thought 10,000 North Korean soldiers might join the conflict.
Recently, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that the international community must respond using “all available means” and called for a security meeting. The spy agency claims that 1,500 troops have already reached Russia, but South Korean media has heard from unidentified sources that the actual number may be closer to 12,000 troops.
This comes as there is growing evidence that North Korea is providing Russia with ammunition, as evidenced by the recent recovery of a missile in the Poltava region of Ukraine. In recent months, Pyongyang and Moscow have also been strengthening their ties.
In a birthday greeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as his “closest comrade” last week. Key representatives from the Ministry of National Defence, the National Intelligence Service and South Korea’s National Security Office attended the security meeting on Friday, according to Yoon’s office.
“[The participants] decided not to ignore the situation and to jointly respond to it with the international community using all available means,” added the statement.
Days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources claimed that Russia’s army was assembling a unit of North Koreans, the National Intelligence Service made the accusation. The NIS has been contacted by the BBC for comment.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s spy service, asserted that approximately 11,000 North Korean infantry soldiers were preparing to fight in Ukraine and eastern Russia.
“They will be ready [to fight in Ukraine] on 1 November,” Ukrainian Defence Intelligence Directorate chief Lt Gen Budanov stated on the Warzone website.
“The first group of 2,600 soldiers will be sent to Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukraine holds a number of settlements after launching its incursion in August,” he stated, adding that the North Koreans will use Russian weapons and equipment.
Putin introduced a measure earlier this week to formalise a military agreement he struck with Kim that states that in the case of “aggression” against either North Korea or Russia, the two nations will support one another. North Korean forces are training in Russian facilities in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Vlagoveshensk, according to South Korea’s spy agency, the NIS.
A military source in Russia’s Far East informed BBC Russian last week that “a number of North Koreans have arrived” and were based at one of the military bases close to Ussuriysk.
Additionally, Seoul’s intelligence agency published overhead photos of North Korea’s Chongjin port, where a Russian ship was purportedly seen transporting North Korean soldiers, as well as Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where they claim hundreds of North Korean forces had assembled.
According to the NIS, since August, North Korea has shipped 13,000 cargo containers filled with anti-armour rockets, missiles and shells to Russia.
Russia has received up to eight million 122-mm and 152-mm rounds, the statement stated. Some military analysts, however, think it will be challenging for Russian forces to integrate North Korean forces into their frontlines.
According to them, the North Korean army lacks recent combat action expertise in addition to the linguistic issue. Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian journal Defence Express, stated that “they could guard some sections of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which would free Russian units for fighting elsewhere.”
“The idea that these units will show up on the front line right away is something I would rule out,” he said.
