Seoul: Pyongyang has sent military forces to Russia for the war in Ukraine

2024-10-18 21:31:39, Kosova & Bota CNA

South Korea's intelligence agency said on Friday that North Korea has sent military forces to Russia to help it in its war against Ukraine. If the information is confirmed, the move involves a third country at war and intensifies the clash between North Korea and the West.

South Korea's announcement came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government has information that 10,000 military forces from North Korea are preparing to join Russian forces fighting his country.

The National Intelligence Service, known by its acronym NIS, announced in a statement that Russian navy ships transferred 1,500 members of North Korean special forces to the Russian port of Vladivostok between October 8 and 13. According to this service, North Korean forces are expected to be sent to Russia soon.

North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia have been given Russian military uniforms, weapons and forged identification documents, according to the NIS agency. According to the South Korean service, they are currently staying at military bases in Vladivostok and other places such as Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk.

According to the NIS intelligence agency, they are believed to be deployed on the battlefield after training is completed.

On its website, the NIS published photographs and satellite images showing what the intelligence service called the movement of a Russian navy ship near a North Korean port and suspicious gatherings of people in Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk last week.

South Korean media, citing the NIS intelligence service, announced that North Korea has decided to deploy a total of 12,000 troops, divided into four brigades, to Russia. The NIS said it could not confirm these reports.

If confirmed, the move would be North Korea's first major participation in a foreign war. North Korea has 1.2 million troops, one of the largest armies in the world, but has not fought in any large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The United States expressed its concerns over South Korea's claims that North Korea has sent its special forces to fight in Russia.

"If true, this action would mark a significant strengthening of the defense relationship between North Korea and Russia," declared the official of the National Security Council near the White House, Sean Savett.

Sending North Korean special forces to fight on Russia's side against Ukraine "would also show a new level of Russia's desperation as it continues to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield during its brutal war against Ukraine," Mr. Savett.

Asked about the findings of South Korea's intelligence agency, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that "currently, our official position is that we cannot confirm reports that North Koreans are actively involved as soldiers in war, but this attitude can change".

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday that the United States cannot confirm or support media reports that North Korea has deployed troops to Russia.

Russia has denied that it is using North Korean troops in the war. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims as "another piece of fake news" during a press conference last week. North Korean state media have not commented on the issue.

North Korea and Russia, both embroiled in separate clashes with the West, have greatly increased cooperation between them in the past two years. The United States, South Korea and their partners accuse North Korea of ??supplying Russia with grenades, missiles and other conventional weapons to help it fight Ukraine in exchange for economic and military aid. In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement for mutual military defense if either country is attacked.

Many experts express doubts about how much a North Korean troop deployment could help Russia, citing North Korea's outdated equipment and lack of battlefield experience. They say North Korea has likely received promises from Russia to supply it with advanced weapons technology related to its nuclear and missile programs, which would complicate U.S. and South Korean efforts to neutralize North Korea's nuclear threats.

"In diplomatic terms, Pyongyang would sacrifice relations with European states in the near future. "The Russian military technology that would be given to the Kim regime would be enough to threaten the security of South Korea," said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

According to Hong Min, an analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, Russia may have provided it with technology related to long-range ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and surface-to-air defense systems that will strengthen its position. North Korea from the preventive aspect against American and South Korean forces.

Analyst Hong said leader Kim may also view the troop deployment as an important opportunity to expose his soldiers to modern weapons and warfare technology and test their combat capabilities.

On Friday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held an emergency security meeting to discuss the fallout from the deployment of North Korean forces. Participants in the meeting agreed that the move posed "a serious security threat" to South Korea and the international community, according to the president's office.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have intensified in recent years as North Korean leader Kim has stepped up provocative missile tests and openly threatened the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons. South Korea and the United States have responded to these threats by expanding their military exercises, which North Korea views as exercises for invasion.

On Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Zelenskyy warned that the involvement of a third country in the fighting could turn the conflict into a "world war".

"From our intelligence sources, we have information that North Korea sent command cadres and officers to Ukraine," Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters at NATO headquarters. "They are preparing to deploy their 10,000 soldiers, but they have not yet deployed them to Ukraine or Russia."

Ukrainian media reported earlier this month that six North Korean nationals were among those killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in the eastern Donetsk region on October 3.

Many experts are skeptical about the possible deployment of North Korean forces to the Russo-Ukrainian battlefields because North Korea is focused on its nuclear conflict with the United States and South Korea.

North Korea sent its pilots to fight in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and in Egypt during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but has not deployed large-scale ground troops abroad.

There has been speculation that North Korea may have sent military technicians and engineers to support the use of their weapons in Russia and to learn how they are performing in a state of war.

Professor Easley says "it would be surprising if Pyongyang has deployed thousands of soldiers to fight as paid mercenaries."

But he adds that North Korea has sent construction workers, technicians, engineers and military intelligence officers to enclaves controlled by Russia./ VOA