North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, confirming reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine.
The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, indicating the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
This evidence appears to confirm Kyiv’s long-held concerns that North Korea is preparing for a more direct role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had repeatedly sounded the alarm regarding Russia and North Korea’s deepening alliance, stating at a NATO summit this week that “thousands” of North Korean troops were on their way to Russia.
“From intelligence that I have … they are preparing 10,000 soldiers, different soldiers, land forces, technical personnel,” Zelensky told reporters, describing it as an urgent development he had raised with the United States.
This could mark the first time North Korea makes a significant intervention in an international conflict. North Korea has one of the world’s largest militaries with 1.2 million soldiers, although many of its troops lack combat experience.
Multiple governments have accused Pyongyang of supplying arms to Moscow for its war in Ukraine, a charge both countries have denied, despite significant evidence of such transfers.
The two nations, both often isolated by the West, have forged increasingly warm ties since Russia’s invasion.
During Putin’s visit to North Korea in June, the two countries pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked, part of a landmark defense pact agreed by the autocratic nations.
Putin stated during that trip that the two countries were ramping up ties to a “new level.”
Ahead of talks between the two, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his full support for the Russian government and military, pointing to Moscow’s actions in Ukraine as efforts to protect its sovereignty and territorial stability.