SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s intelligence agency said Friday that North Korea has dispatched troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, a development that could bring third countries into the war and set Pyongyang at odds with the West. may intensify.
The National Intelligence Service said in a statement that Russian naval vessels transferred 1,500 North Korean special operations troops to the Russian port city of Vladivostok from October 8 to October 13, with more North Korean troops on the way soon. He said he is expected to be dispatched to Russia.
According to the National Intelligence Service, North Korean soldiers sent to Russia are given Russian military uniforms, weapons, and fake ID cards. According to the report, they are currently staying at Russian military bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk, and are likely to be sent to the battlefield after completing adaptation training.
The National Intelligence Service posted on its website satellite photos and other photos showing the movement of so-called Russian naval vessels near North Korean ports, as well as large gatherings by North Korea in Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk over the past week. He expressed his suspicions.
South Korean media earlier reported, citing the National Intelligence Service, that North Korea had decided to send a total of 12,000 troops to Russia.
If confirmed, it would be North Korea’s first major participation in a foreign war. North Korea has one of the world’s largest armed forces of 1.2 million people, but it has little experience in combat.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary Mark Rutte said on Friday that the alliance could not confirm that North Korea was sending large numbers of troops to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, according to AFP news agency. He said he did not.
Many experts question how much North Korea’s troop deployment will help Russia, citing its outdated equipment and lack of battlefield experience.
Experts also said North Korea likely received Russia’s promise to provide security assistance at a time when North Korea is at loggerheads with the United States and South Korea over its nuclear program.
At a meeting in Pyongyang in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that either country could attack in what is considered the largest defense pact between the two countries since the end of the Cold War. The two countries signed an agreement providing for mutual military assistance in the event of a crisis. .
The National Intelligence Service did not immediately confirm the report, but South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement that President Yun Seok-yew presided over an emergency meeting early Friday to discuss North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Ukraine. According to the statement, participants at the meeting agreed that North Korea’s troop deployment poses a serious security threat to South Korea and the international community.
However, the presidential office did not provide details such as when and how many North Korean soldiers were sent to Ukraine or what role they are expected to play.
According to Russian media, Russia denies using North Korean troops in the war, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the claim “another piece of fake news” at a press conference last week.
Ukrainian media reported earlier this month that six North Koreans were among those killed in a Ukrainian missile attack in the partially occupied eastern region of Donetsk on October 3.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his government had received information that 10,000 troops from North Korea were ready to join Russian forces fighting the country, adding that the country’s government has received information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are ready to join Russian forces fighting the country, adding that no third country would be involved in hostilities. He warned that the conflict could escalate into a “world war” if boarded.
“We have received information from our own intelligence that North Korea has sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” Zelensky told reporters at NATO headquarters. “They have prepared 10,000 soldiers on their own soil, but they have not yet transferred them to Ukraine or Russia.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the Western alliance has “no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in combat, but that North Korea is assisting Russia in a variety of ways, including by supplying weapons, providing technology, and innovating.” I know what I’m doing,” he said. And that’s very worrying. ”
The United States, South Korea and its partners have accused North Korea of supplying Moscow with artillery shells, missiles and other equipment to facilitate its war against Ukraine.
In return, North Korea received much-needed food aid, economic aid and technical assistance aimed at strengthening Kim’s nuclear-armed military, outside officials and experts said. states that it is possible. Moscow and North Korea have repeatedly denied the existence of an arms agreement between the two countries.
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