“Several thousand” soldiers from North Korea are undergoing training in Russia, may be deployed to Ukraine - ISW
Kyiv • UNN
According to the ISW, “several thousand” North Korean infantrymen are being trained in Russia. They may be deployed to the front in Ukraine or in the border regions of Russia by the end of 2024.
"Several thousand" North Korean infantrymen are trained in Russia and the Russian military command may deploy them on the front line in Ukraine by the end of 2024 or in the border areas of Russia. This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), UNN writes.
ISW notes that South Korean and Ukrainian officials continue to identify North Korean military personnel already fighting in Ukraine, as well as training in Russia for possible future deployment alongside the Russian military.
On October 11, The Washington Post reported that officials in South Korea and Ukraine said North Korean soldiers are operating alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. A Ukrainian military intelligence official reportedly said that some North Korean officers have been observing Russian troops and studying the battlefield in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, but that Ukraine has not yet observed North Korean units operating in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian official reportedly added that "several thousand" North Korean infantrymen are training in Russia and that Russian military commanders could deploy them to the front lines in Ukraine by the end of 2024 or to Russian border areas to free up Russian "reserves" to fight within Ukraine
It is noted that the size of the grouping of North Korean forces that Russia could deploy on the front line or that could relieve Russian forces along the border is unknown, but these scenarios could also contribute to Russia's efforts to send additional forces for priority offensive operations in Ukraine and prolong the culmination of the Russian offensive that would begin in the summer of 2024.
Addendum
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, reported that Pyongyang sent its military to Ukraine. These are engineering units that oversee the weapons transferred from North Korea. However, some of Kim Jong-un's envoys have already been killed.
South Korea's defense minister said that North Korea may send its regular troops to support Russian aggression in Ukraine.
On October 4, sources of UNN reported that a missile strike on a training ground near Donetsk killed 6 North Korean officers.
