The Russian military facility at Ussuriysk, near Vladivostok, where South Korea’s national intelligence service said it saw North Korean troops gathered at the training ground, in a satellite image released by Airbus Defense and Space, October 18, 2024. AFP PHOTO / AIRBUS DEFENSE AND SPACE VIA SOUTH KOREA’S NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE NATO and the United States confirmed for the first time, Wednesday October 23, that North Korean troops were indeed deployed in Russia, making fear an unprecedented escalation in the war in Ukraine with the direct involvement of a third country. “We have proof that North Korean troops went to Russia,” US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin told reporters on the plane taking him to Italy, where he is to participate in a G7 meeting. “What exactly are they doing?” That remains to be seen, he added. If they are cobelligerents, if they intend to participate in this war on behalf of Russia, this is a very, very serious question. » A NATO spokesperson in Brussels also “confirmed evidence of the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia. If these troops were intended to fight in Ukraine, it would mark a significant escalation of North Korea’s support for Russia’s illegal war,” he added. Read also | Live, war in Ukraine: for the United States, North Korean soldiers deployed on the Ukrainian front would be “legitimate targets” Add to your selections This deployment had been announced a few days earlier by Korean intelligence services South and Ukraine. Some 10,000 North Korean troops are to be deployed to Russia by December to help Moscow’s troops fight the Ukrainians, Park Sun-won, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, said after a briefing with the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). North Korea has already sent 3,000 troops to Russia, spread across several military bases in the Far East, where they are receiving training on drones and other equipment, the NIS said Wednesday. A “baseless rumor”, according to Moscow and Pyongyang Foreigners are already fighting for Russia as mercenaries. But the sending of regular troops to the war in Ukraine by a foreign government is a first. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that North Korean officers and technical personnel had already been seen in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, likely to prepare for the arrival of a larger contingent. important. “How do they manage them, how do they command them?” asked the head of state. I mean, the language barrier. I think it’s a serious challenge. » The presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine has not been confirmed by Western sources. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: the announced deployment of North Korean soldiers, an unprecedented escalation Add to your selections According to the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Boudanov, the first units sent by Pyongyang were to be deployed on Wednesday October 23 in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops have occupied several hundred square kilometers since their offensive on August 6. This is earlier than initially planned. Last week, Mr. Boudanov declared that North Korean soldiers “will be ready for combat operations from November 1,” with the sending of a first group of 2,600 men to the Kursk region. You have 54.35% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
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