Russia has deployed about 3,000 North Korean troops, who were redeployed from the Far East, in the Kursk region, just 50 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. The Financial Times reports this with reference to Ukrainian intelligence sources.
According to intelligence, the first units from North Korea arrived in Russia in early October. The soldiers are part of the elite 11th Army Corps, also known as the DPRK’s ‘Assault Corps’. However, out of the approximately 3,000 who arrived, only a few hundred are special forces, while the rest consist of regular infantry units.
On 28 October, these troops were stationed in barracks near the border, awaiting further orders from the Russian command. At the same time, Ukrainian intelligence has doubts about the North Koreans’ combat skills, noting that most of them are “inexperienced and without combat experience”.
‘They have never left their country before. They have never fought in real battles, and their experience is very far from the reality of modern warfare,’ one Ukrainian intelligence officer commented to the FT.
According to him, even kamikaze drones, which are common in modern warfare, are a completely new phenomenon for North Korean soldiers.
Ukrainian officials believe that Russian forces may be using North Koreans on the front line as ‘cannon fodder’. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has previously confirmed that Russia is indeed using North Korean units to support its army in Ukraine.
On 25 October, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, according to intelligence, North Korean soldiers could start participating in hostilities as early as 27-28 October. On 28 October, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed that the DPRK had sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to undergo training and prepare for possible participation in hostilities against Ukraine in the coming weeks.
