North Korea's soldiers set up training ground near Mariupol - partisans

The corresponding message appeared on the movement's Telegram channel on Sunday, October 13, 2024.

‘It is reported that three training grounds in the Mariupol region are actively operating, especially the training ground near the village of Sartana, equipped with the participation of the North Korean contingent. Intensive training with cannon artillery is taking place there, which refutes the information about a shortage of shells.

The North Korean instructors are setting up the training ground and probably feel confident and safe at the moment. Many residents of the Sartana community have started to actively cooperate with the occupation forces, says the Ukrainian guerrilla movement, which mainly operates in the Azov region.

Other sources have not yet provided information about the alleged three training grounds for DPR forces in the TOT, including their ‘own’ training ground in Sartana.

According to the guerrillas, they will ‘do everything possible’ to ensure that Putin's military allies from the DPRK ‘receive a “greeting” from the Ukrainian Armed Forces as soon as possible’.

North Korean troops on the front line in Donetsk region

According to the Kyiv Post, a missile strike on October 3, 2024, on the occupied territory near Donetsk killed 20 troops. Among them were six officers from North Korea who had arrived for consultations with their Russian counterparts. In addition, three more North Korean soldiers were injured.

The Kyiv Post, citing Russian social media, also noted that before the missile strike, the Russians demonstrated to North Korean representatives the training of personnel for assault and defense.

On October 8, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun warned that North Korea could send its troops to Ukraine to support Russia.

‘This is a large army, the fifth largest in the world. Out of almost 1.3 million North Korean soldiers, 1,100,000 are ground troops. They have numerous ground units of various levels, and we can say that they can fill the gap that Russia is currently experiencing,‘ Valerii Riabykh, Development Director of the Defense Express media and consulting company, commented in an interview with Espreso.