Kyiv Says North Korean Troops Will Deploy for Combat as Early as Sunday

Russia will deploy North Korean troops into combat zones against Ukraine for the first time on Sunday or Monday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Friday, citing intelligence information.

On Oct. 25, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, provide him with the information about the involvement of North Korean troops by Russia and their anticipated use on combat zones as early as this weekend.

Zelensky said that this was a clear escalation on the part of Russia, which he says is significant despite all the denials and misinformation that circulated during the so-called BRICS summit in Kazan in recent days.

He stated that the world must understand Russia's true intentions - the continuation of the war which should be met by a decisive and strong reaction from world leaders.

He stressed that the actual involvement of North Korea in combat operations should not be met with indifference or confusion but rather the application of clear pressure on Moscow and Pyongyang to uphold the UN Charter and punish them for escalating the conflict.

As Kyiv Post previously reported on Thursday, Oct. 24, at a press conference following the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented for the first time on the possible involvement of North Korean troops in his war against Ukraine after being questioned on reports that its soldiers had been seen on Russian territory, likely in preparation for participation in the conflict.

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Putin said, “Satellite images are a serious matter, and if they exist, they must show something.” He then went on to once again deny that Russia was responsible for escalating the war, accusing the West of supporting Ukraine and helping it wage war.

“But I want to draw your attention to the fact that it was not Russia's actions that led to the escalation in Ukraine, but the 2014 coup, primarily supported by the United States,” Putin said.

According to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), the first units of North Korean soldiers arrived in Russia’s Kursk region close to the combat zone on Oct. 23. HUR estimated that the number of North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia was around 12,000, including 500 officers, among them three generals.

Though North Korean troops may soon bolster Russian forces in Kursk, analysts doubt the significance of their impact as Moscow faces manpower shortages and high casualties.

The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) said these soldiers are receiving training at Russian military bases, where they have been issued Russian uniforms and fake documents identifying them as Buryats and Yakuts, two of Russia’s Asian ethnic minorities in Siberia.

North Korea is stepping in as Russia is grappling with heavy losses by providing the latter with personnel along with weapons and equipment, Kyiv Post sources in HUR said.

It said the North Koreans will form part of a “Special Buryat Battalion,” organized within the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Armed Forces. The battalion is expected to include up to 3,000 North Korean troops, is currently being supplied with small arms and ammunition and is likely to be deployed in the Kursk region near Sudzha and the city of Kursk, close to the Ukrainian border.

In return for the troops, Russia would provide Pyongyang with financial assistance and modern technology to help the country develop its nuclear program and expand its nuclear arsenal, according to HUR’s chief, Kyrylo Budanov.

Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” (Хочу жить) project, a surrender hotline operated by HUR, has called on North Korean soldiers sent to fight against Ukraine to surrender and avoid participating in combat operations.

Ukraine and South Korea both claimed in mid-October that Pyongyang had deployed troops to aid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, likely as a result of the June 18 mutual defense pact.

This is a developing story. Read more about North Korean troop deployments in Ukraine here.