On October 18, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed that North Korea has begun dispatching approximately 12,000 troops to assist Russia in combat, with the first batch of 1,500 people already arriving in Russia.
In early August this year, the NIS discovered that Kim Jong-chik, deputy minister of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party who oversees North Korea’s missile development, had visited the Russia-Ukraine front several times to assess the situation at the KN-23 missile launching site. Surveillance later revealed that between the 8th and the 13th of August, North Korea transported special forces to the Russia-Ukraine combat zone via Russian naval transport ships.
According to NIS sources, North Korea is expected to send over 12,000 elite special forces under the “11th Corps” to the Russia-Ukraine combat zone. The first 1,500 personnel have taken Russian Pacific Fleet’s four landing ships and three escort ships from northern North Korea to Vladivostok, Russia. The second batch of soldiers is expected to depart soon.
The NIS pointed out that North Korean soldiers have been provided with Russian military uniforms and weapons, as well as fake identification cards resembling those of the Siberian Yakut and Buryat people. This camouflage is aimed at either disguising themselves as Russian soldiers or concealing the truth of North Korean involvement in the conflict.
The day before, Ukrainian President Zelensky mentioned after the NATO summit that North Korea is preparing to dispatch 10,000 soldiers to assist Russia in the war against Ukraine.
According to NIS assessments, since August, North Korea has provided Russia with over 13,000 containers containing lethal weapons such as shells, missiles, and anti-tank rockets on more than seventy occasions. This deployment seems to be based on the “Military Intervention” clause in the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” signed by North Korea and Russia in June of this year.
Article 4 of the treaty stipulates that if one party is under attack by one or more countries and is at war, the other party will immediately provide military and other assistance by all available means.
After inspecting weapons of North Korean origin confiscated on the battlefield, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate found that the weapons provided by North Korea to Russia include 122mm and 152mm shells, “Bulsae-4” anti-tank missiles, KN-23 tactical missiles, and RPG anti-tank rockets.
According to the NIS, as a “return” for North Korean military aid, the possibility of Russia transferring advanced military technology such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear submarine technology to North Korea has increased.
On October 18, the South Korean Presidential Office announced that President Yoon Suk-yeol convened an emergency security meeting to discuss matters related to North Korea’s dispatch of troops to assist Russia. Participants included key officials from the National Security Office, Ministry of National Defense, and the National Intelligence Service, who unanimously agreed that North Korea’s actions of not only providing military resources but also directly dispatching troops to aid Russia pose a serious threat to South Korea and the international community. South Korea will not stand idly by and will take all available measures in coordination with the international community.
It is worth noting that on October 15, senior Ukrainian military officials reported a large-scale desertion by North Korean soldiers in the border areas of Russia adjacent to Ukraine. These North Korean soldiers were believed to have been recently dispatched to assist Russia.
According to information disclosed by the Ukrainian military officials and reported by the “Chosun Ilbo” on October 16, “We have received intelligence that 18 North Korean soldiers have deserted between 7 kilometers northwest of the Ukraine-Russia border in the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia. The Russian military is pursuing them. It appears that they have not been captured yet, and the local Russian forces are attempting to conceal this fact from higher-ranking units.”