This content was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Ukraine’s military intelligence services said on October 24 that it has  , detected , the presence of North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia’s Kursk area.
The initial military products from North Korea arrived in the combat area on October 23, according to knowledge information.
The intelligence services claimed that their appearance “was recorded in the Kursk area of the Russian Federation,” a border region where Russian forces launched a significant incursion in August.
As the conflict in Ukraine, which was sparked by Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its cousin in February 2022, progresses, a implementation raises the possibility that North Korean soldiers might unite with Russian forces fighting there.
The Kremlin has recently referred to rumors about the North’s army deployment as “fake information.” However, Vladimir Putin, the chairman of Russia, did not deny that North Korean troops were stationed in Russia on October 24.
Putin added it was Moscow’s company how to apply a strategic relationship agreement with Pyongyang , agreed , by Putin and North Korea head Kim Jong Un in June.
Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, before on October 24 approved the agreement, which allows for “military , and another help” from one state to the other.
The agreement raises the level of cooperation between the two nations, including a provision that states that the other had “immediately give defense and other help with all indicates at its disposal” if one part is attacked and finds itself in a state of war.
It’s not clear how that clause , is to be , interpreted, but both South Korea and the United States have just said they have proof that North Vietnamese soldiers are in Russia and appear to be holding training activities.
U. S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin , said , on October 23 that the proof of North Korea sending soldiers to Russia was the “next step” after Pyongyang provided Moscow with wings.
Researchers are also assessing the situation, Austin said, but Pyongyang, which has denied the accusations, may experience effects for aiding Russia immediately.
Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, reiterated Austin’s assertions on October 24 by telling reporters at a lecture that the U.S. army had seen proof of North Korean troops entering Russia.
” What exactly they’re doing has yet to be seen”, she said, adding that the actions “really highlight Russia’s desperation]and ] show that Putin has failed in his strategic objectives on the battlefield”.
According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who spoke on October 23 that the White House believes that at least 3, 000 North Vietnamese soldiers traveled by fleet to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East in the early middle of October.
” If they’re co-belligerents, their goal is to join in this battle on Russia’s representative, that is a very, very significant issue, and it will have consequences not only in Europe, it will also influence things in the Indo-Pacific”, he said.
If accurate, “it would represent yet another major increase in North Korea’s aid for Russia’s illegal battle and another sign of Russia’s considerable losses on the front lines,” according to NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah, who said the allies are weighing in.
The North Korean government’s participation in the war was officially officially recognized last week by the National Intelligence Service ( NIS), which announced last week that it had tracked its movements from October 8 to October 13 and had captured photos of it using a Russian travel ship to carry special forces to Russian territory. This was the first time a Russian Navy vehicle had been discovered entering North Korean waters since 1990, putting the start of the North Korean government’s involvement in the war.
Nearly 32 months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched, there are signs of tightening ties between Moscow and countries like North Korea and Iran, which has heightened speculation about North Korea’s role in the conflict.
A Washington-based think tank called the Institute for the Study of War recently learned that several thousand North Korean soldiers had arrived in Russia and were being prepared for deployment in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has previously refuted South Korea’s claims that Pyongyang had given Moscow short-range missiles and artillery shells. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, warned on October 14 that Russian assistance from North Korea “is no longer just about transferring weapons.”