The United States and South Korea have confirmed the participation of the North Korean military in the battles in the Kursk region of Russia.
This is reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap.
The intelligence of South Korea clarified that during the last two weeks, North Korean soldiers were moved to the Kursk region, they finished deploying them on the battlefield. The service is collecting additional intelligence, so no other details have been released.
Meanwhile, the United States announced that most of the more than 10 000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia had been moved to the west of the Kursk region — they had already begun combat operations against Ukraine. The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that soldiers from the DPRK are already "literally" taking part in the battles.
South Korea promised to take the necessary measures depending on the deepening of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
The participation of the military of North Korea in the war in Ukraine
On October 24, the Ukrainian intelligence reported that the first soldiers from the DPRK had already arrived at the front — in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12 000 military personnel, including 500 officers and three generals.
On November 6, the American newspaper The New York Times wrote that the North Korean troops suffered their first losses in the battles against Ukraine. The North Koreans fought together with the Russian 810 separate brigade of marines. It is not clear when exactly the battle took place, but it was small and there the Koreans suffered their first losses.
According to the publicationʼs sources, Russia has assembled a group of 50 000 troops for the offensive in the Kursk region — the operation may begin in the coming days. The North Koreans are trained in artillery fire, basic infantry tactics and, most importantly, trench clearing, the US officials say. This means that at least part of the military from North Korea will be used in frontal attacks on Ukrainian positions.
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