South Korea’s military intelligence agency said on Wednesday that an advance unit of North Korean soldiers may have been sent to the front lines in support of Russia’s war effort against Ukraine, according to Yonhap news agency.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) shared this information with lawmakers during a routine parliamentary audit, Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party told Yonhap.
When questioned about foreign reports suggesting that North Korean troops were being deployed to the front lines of the war, the agency responded that while there is no precise information, “There is a possibility that some advance units have been sent to the front lines.”
FILE— In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, supervises artillery firing drills in North Korea, on Mar. 7, 2024. South Korea’s military intelligence agency said on Wednesday that an advance unit of North Korean soldiers may have been sent to the front lines in support of Russia’s war effort against Ukraine.
Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP
The thousands of young soldiers North Korea has reportedly sent to Russia to assist in the fight against Ukraine are primarily elite special forces. However, speculation persists that they may face heavy casualties due to a lack of combat experience, unfamiliarity with the terrain, and the likelihood of being deployed to some of the conflict’s most intense battlefields.
Lee Woong-gil, is a former member of the special forces unit, the Storm Corps who came to South Korea in 2007. He said “They are too young and won’t understand exactly what it means. They’ll just consider it an honor to be selected as the ones to go to Russia among the many North Korean soldiers,” he continued “But I think most of them won’t likely come back home alive.”
Concerns over North Korea’s potential involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war intensified this week after the Pentagon reported that approximately 10,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Russia, with expectations that they will engage in combat against Ukraine “over the next several weeks.”
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte confirmed that some North Korean units are already stationed in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Russian forces have been facing challenges in countering a Ukrainian incursion.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
