South Korean intelligence says 1,500 North Korean commandos are already in Russia

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has reported that North Korea has sent 1,500 commandos to help Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. They have arrived in Russia.

Source: South Korean news agency Yonhap

Details: This marks the first large-scale deployment of North Korean ground troops, which is anticipated to have considerable security ramifications not only on the Korean Peninsula but also across Northeast Asia and beyond.

NIS stated that it had detected the transport of North Korean special forces to Russian territory via Russian naval transport ships. This confirms the beginning of North Korean military involvement.

South Korean intelligence indicated that 1,500 North Korean troops have been transported to the Russian city of Vladivostok from the regions surrounding Chongjin, Hamhung and Musudan, facilitated by four landing ships and three Russian escort vessels. A second transport operation is anticipated to occur soon.

"North Korea is expected to send about 12,000 troops to the war in Ukraine, including four brigades of its elite special operations forces, the 11th Army Group and what is known as the Storm Corps," a source told NIS.

North Korean troops in Russia are currently deployed at Russian military bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk.

They are expected to be dispatched to the war zone after completing their acclimatisation training.

They have been provided with Russian military uniforms and Russian-made weapons, along with counterfeit identification cards of residents from Yakutia-Buryatia in Siberia, as all of them belong to the East Asian ethnic group. 

At the same time, the NIS did not provide any intelligence to substantiate the claims of troop deployment, nor did it specify whether it had information regarding the involvement of North Korean troops in the hostilities.

Previously: Meanwhile, the South Korean Defence Ministry believes that Pyongyang has likely provided Russia with civilian personnel rather than troops to take part in the war against Ukraine.'

Background:

• On 8 October, the South Korean Ministry of Defence said that North Korea was likely to send some of its regular armed forces to Ukraine to support Russia.
• On 12 October, the Institute for the Study of War reported that several thousand North Korean soldiers were being trained in Russia and might be deployed to Ukraine.
• On 13 October, President Zelenskyy stated that North Korea was supplying Russia not only with weapons but also with military personnel, and called on partners to increase aid for Ukraine.
• On 14 October, in his evening address, Zelenskyy announced that North Korea had de facto entered the war.
• On 16 October, Zelenskyy added that North Korea was also supplying Russia with people to work at Russian factories.
• On 17 October, Zelenskyy specified that Russia intended to involve about 10,000 soldiers from North Korea in the war against Ukraine.
• On 18 October, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, confirmed that approximately 11,000 North Korean infantry troops were being trained in Russia’s east. They are expected to be ready for combat against Ukraine by 1 November.

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