Satellite images show North Korean Special forces deployed in Russia
18 October 2024, 14:30
Satellite images released by South Korea's intelligence services show North Korean special forces troops boarding Russian ships and being transported to the mainland.
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The images, captured mid-August, show the moment North Korean troops board Russian naval ships, then organizing on the mainland.
Four landing ships and three escort ships belonging to the Russian Pacific Fleet transported the first group of approximately 1,500 North Korean special forces from near Chongjin, Hamhung, and Musudan, North Korea, to Vladivostok, Russia.
A second transport is to go forward soon, according to the government's website.
North Korea has 1.2 million troops, one of the largest militaries in the world, but it lacks actual combat experience.
Many experts question how much the North Korean troop dispatch would help Russia, citing North Korea's outdated equipment and shortage of battle experience.
Despite allegations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied North Korean collaboration.
Volodymyr Zelensky grows concerns as he learns on a trip to Brussels that North Korean specialists are already on the ground in parts of Ukraine's occupied territories.
The close ties between leaders have been established after Vladimir Putin sent a birthday message last week calling him his "closest comrade."
Also, in June when Vladimir Putin toasted a “peaceful and defensive” pact with Kim Jong Un stating that an attack one member is an attack on all.
It is a development that could bring a third country into the war and intensify a stand-off between North Korea and the West.
The North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia have been given Russian military uniforms, weapons and forged identification documents, the NIS said.
Earlier, South Korean media, citing the NIS, reported that North Korea has decided to dispatch a total of 12,000 troops formed into four brigades to Russia. It would be North Korea's first major participation in a foreign war, if confirmed.
