The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (known as GUR) Kyrylo Budanov said that North Korea had sent at least 500 officers and three generals to Russia. By the end of October, the DPRK plans to transfer another 2 600 of its soldiers to the Kursk region of Russia.
Budanov said this in a comment to The Economist.
North Korea is not giving up its people or weapons to Russia just like that. Expanded cooperation between the two countries is the result of a treaty on mutual assistance signed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Moscow gives Pyongyang money and technology, and in exchange it receives military personnel and weapons. Russia is helping North Korea circumvent sanctions and "strengthen" its nuclear potential. The Kremlin is transferring some technology for low-yield tactical nuclear weapons and submarine-launched missile systems.
At the same time, it remains an open question how North Korean soldiers will fight on the European battlefield if they have not yet faced the realities of modern warfare dominated by tactical attack drones. They will need a few weeks to adapt. According to Kyrylo Budanov, this is an "unwanted experiment".
As Budanov added, the Russian military is one thing, and the vast majority of them are unmotivated and resigned to their fate. Whereas the North Koreans come with a pre-programmed ideology, leaving families at home who can be executed if they do something wrong.
"They solve some problems for the Russians. There are grounds for concern," summarized the head of GUR.
Participation of the North Korean military in the war against Ukraine
On October 4, Kyiv Post, citing Ukrainian intelligence, reported that six North Korean officers were killed in an attack by the Armed Forces near occupied Donetsk the day before. An anonymous Ukrainian official told The Guardian that North Korean military engineers are helping Russian troops strike Ukraine with North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles.
Already on October 8, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun said that the agreements between Russia and North Korea resemble a military alliance, so there is a high probability that the military from the DPRK is fighting on the side of the Russian Federation in Ukraine — and their number may increase. In a few days, President Zelensky confirmed that North Korea supplies Russia not only with weapons, but also with personnel for the Russian army.
On October 15, Babel sources in the Intelligence said that a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK is being formed at the base of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Federation.
On October 18, the head of GUR Kyrylo Budanov said that about 11 000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in the Russian Federation for war against Ukraine. Soon after that, videos of North Koreans training at Russian training grounds began to appear on the Internet, and Babel sources said that they are being trained in such cities as Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, Blagoveshchensk, and Vladivostok. Subsequently, the intelligence of South Korea told in detail how North Korea supplies Russia with military personnel and equipment.
On October 22, Zelensky reported that Ukraine had already stationed troops from North Korea on its occupied territories.
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