U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that North Korea has sent troops to Russia. According to the South Korean intelligence agency, about 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia to receive training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to Ukraine.
The director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Cho Tae-yong, revealed in a closed-door meeting that it has been discovered that North Korea has sent an additional 1,500 soldiers to Russia, intending to send a total of 10,000 soldiers by December. It was also detected that Russia is recruiting translators to work with the deployed North Korean soldiers.
North Korea has been observed relocating the families of the soldiers to be sent to Russia, isolating them. Although the North Korean government has not publicly announced this troop deployment, rumors about this mobilization are beginning to circulate among the population.
The head of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate has reported that North Korean soldiers would arrive in the Russian region of Kursk to support Russian troops in the fight against a Ukrainian incursion. This troop movement raises concerns about their participation in the Ukrainian conflict and the impact this could have on Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
Although the United States and NATO have not officially confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops, there are growing concerns that their participation on the Russian side in the Ukrainian war could be a very serious matter. Russian forces would be training North Korean soldiers in the use of military equipment such as drones, but it is estimated that they could suffer heavy casualties due to their lack of experience in modern warfare.
It has been noted that North Korea and Russia have intensified their cooperation in recent years, signing a defense agreement that obliges both countries to provide immediate military assistance in the event of an attack. Meanwhile, South Korea has considered the possibility of providing arms to Ukraine in response to this alleged deployment of North Korean troops, although for now, it has refrained from supplying weapons directly to countries in active conflict.
