CNN
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The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service announced on Thursday that a group of North Korean soldiers had been spotted in the Russian Kursk region, an area on the border with Ukraine that has witnessed ongoing military operations.
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence said, in a post on its official account on the Telegram application, that some North Korean forces, which received training in far eastern Russia, made their way to the western Russian region, where Ukraine has maintained a foothold since it launched an incursion into the country. August.
Intelligence said the troops were seen in Kursk on Wednesday. She added that nearly 12,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia are receiving training at five military training sites in the east of the country.
The Kremlin had initially denied allegations of the deployment of North Korean troops, but on Thursday at the BRICS summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny that Pyongyang had sent soldiers into the country.
Last week, CNN geolocated social media videos showing troops arriving at the Sergeevka training ground, near Russia’s border with China.
The number recorded on Thursday, 12,000, is larger than what US officials previously indicated. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that at least 3,000 North Korean troops had arrived in eastern Russia this month.
Ukrainian intelligence services announced on Thursday that “several weeks” had been allocated to coordinating North Korean forces, which include 500 officers and three generals.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned that improved relations between Russia and North Korea could push Pyongyang to take a more direct role in the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Kyiv had intelligence on Russia “Training of two North Korean military units” may include “two brigades of 6,000 personnel each.” He added that Ukraine had seen “North Korean officers and technical staff in temporarily occupied territories” and believed Russia was “preparing a group” to enter Ukraine.
This case raised alarm bells among Ukraine’s allies. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called it a “major escalation in the war” during an interview Thursday with CNN’s Issa Soares. “The conflict is no longer regional, and it is no longer just European – it is a global conflict, affecting everyone,” Landsberges said.
The Russian president did not deny the presence of North Korean forces when asked about the issue on Thursday.
When reporters asked him about reports that North Korea was sending troops to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Putin said his country was “in contact” with Pyongyang.
“We never doubted that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously,” he said at a press conference in Kazan, Russia. “But what and how we will do is our business.”
Russia and North Korea, both pariahs in the West, have forged increasingly cordial relations since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
In June, the two countries signed a historic defense agreement and pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if the other side was attacked.
North Korea has also faced multiple accusations of supplying Russia with weapons for use in its war in Ukraine – a charge that both countries have denied, despite significant evidence proving such transfers.
The arms shipments, which include thousands of metric tons of munitions, helped Russia replenish its dwindling stockpiles in a war in which Ukraine’s forces have long been outgunned. Meanwhile, cash-strapped North Korea is believed to have received food and other necessities in return.
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