North Korea has sent 1,500 special forces to eastern Russia for training and familiarization with local military bases and will be deployed to fight in Ukraine, South Korea’s intelligence agency said on Friday.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said it was cooperating with Ukraine’s intelligence service and used facial recognition intelligence technology to identify North Korean officials in the Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine who were supporting Russian forces firing North Korean missiles.
In more than 13,000 containers, North Korea has sent artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets to Russia since August last year, the agency said, based on weapons remnants recovered from the war in Ukraine.
In total, more than eight million artillery pieces and rockets have been sent to Russia, he said.
“Direct military cooperation between Russia and North Korea that has been reported by foreign media has now been officially confirmed,” the intelligence statement said.
Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held an impromptu security meeting with key intelligence, military and national security officials to discuss North Korean military involvement in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Yonhap news agency reported.
“Participants … shared the view that the current situation in which Russia’s relations with North Korea have gone beyond the transfer of military supplies to the deployment of troops is a serious security threat not only to our country but also to the international community,” the statement said. .
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in North Korea for a visit and meeting with leader Kim Jong Un, which has raised concerns in the West about military cooperation between the two countries.
Yoon’s office said South Korea and its allies have been closely monitoring the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia since the initial stages.
South Korea will respond to the North’s activities by all available means, it added, without elaborating on what measures it might take.
Weapons sent to Russia, West believes
Russian Pacific Fleet vessels were found to be transporting 1,500 North Korean special forces to Vladivostok from October 8 to 13 and are expected to resume troop deployments soon, the NIS said.
The soldiers were given Russian military uniforms and weapons and fake identification documents for when they would be used in combat, the NIS added.
The agency said it is using Facial Recognition AI to identify with high accuracy North Korean military officials in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine where they support Russian missile attacks and help with technical errors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused North Korea on Thursday of sending officials closer to Russia and preparing to send 10,000 troops to help fight Moscow, although NATO chief Mark Rutte said there was no evidence of Pyongyang’s presence yet.
NATO gave no sign on Wednesday that it would invite Ukraine to join anytime soon as members of the security alliance demanded more information from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about his “successful plan” to end the war with Russia.
Since their leaders’ summit in Russia’s far east last year, North Korea and Russia have dramatically improved their military ties and met again in June to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership that includes a defense pact.
North Korea has 1.28 million active troops, according to the latest South Korean data, and has stepped up its development of a range of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, fueling regional tensions and drawing international sanctions.
Russia and North Korea both deny that they are involved in arms transfers. The Kremlin also dismissed South Korean claims that North Korea might send some troops to help Russia against Ukraine.
Sending troops to Russia, if confirmed, would be North Korea’s first major military involvement since the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea is reported to have sent a very small number to the Vietnam War and to the civil conflict in Syria.
Source link
