North Korean troops in Russia move towards war

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported this Tuesday (29) that “an advance team” of North Korean troops sent to Russia is heading to the war front in Ukraine.

The information was released by the South Korean news agency Yonhap and comes after the Pentagon indicated this Monday (28) that Pyongyang sent around 10,000 troops to eastern Russia, expressing “concern” about the possibility of Moscow using them in combat.

Seoul intelligence, in turn, estimates that North Korea could send around 10,900 troops to Russia by December.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone on Tuesday and both “condemned illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including arms transfers and sending of troops”, and agreed to “hold strategic consultations for a joint response”, according to a statement from the South Korean presidential office.

Yoon expressed concern about the transfer of sensitive military technology from Moscow to Pyongyang in exchange for sending troops, and about North Korean forces gaining combat experience in the conflict in Ukraine.

For Zelensky, sending North Korean soldiers to the front lines could start a “new and unprecedented phase” in the conflict and said that Kiev would soon send a delegation to South Korea for “further progression”.

According to the Ukrainian president, the conclusion is clear: “the war is becoming international, it is spreading beyond two countries.”