Russia prepares over 10,000 DPRK soldiers for war in Ukraine, says intelligence chief

The Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), Kyrylo Budanov, said this in an interview with The War Zone.

“They will be ready [to fight in Ukraine] on Nov. 1,” Budanov noted.

According to him, North Korean troops will use Russian equipment and ammunition. The first unit of 2,600 soldiers will go to Kursk, where Ukraine has established a bridgehead.

It is not yet clear where the rest of the North Korean troops will go, he added.

“We don’t have the full picture right now,” the DIU chief summarized.

South Korea calls DPRK sending troops to Russia a “grave security threat”

On Friday, October 18, South Korea announced that the DPRK was sending its troops to Russia, calling it a serious threat to the security of the international community, to which Seoul will respond with all available means, Reuters reports.

According to the Yonhap news agency, citing intelligence data, North Korea has decided to send 12,000 troops to Russia, including a special forces unit.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has already held an unscheduled security meeting with key intelligence, military, and national security officials to discuss the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The participants ... shared the view that the current situation where Russia and North Korea's closer ties have gone beyond the movement of military supplies to actual dispatch of troops is a grave security threat not only to our country but to the international community," he noted.

• On October 4, the Kyiv Post reported that a missile strike on the occupied territory of Ukraine's Donetsk region killed 20 soldiers. Among them, in particular, were six soldiers from the DPRK who were consulting the Russian army.

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

• On October 13, reports indicated that Russia is continuing to strengthen allied relations with North Korea, effectively facilitating the transfer of North Korean military personnel into the ranks of the Russian army.

• At a press conference in Brussels on October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia plans to train 10,000 North Korean soldiers and engage them in the war in Ukraine.