CNN
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North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s Far East, confirming reports by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been sent to Ukraine for military training.
North Korean troops are thought to be training in Ukraine before being sent to the front line, a clear sign of ever-warmer relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
In a video shared with CNN by the Ukrainian Center for Communications and Information Security, a Ukrainian government body, a long line of soldiers can be seen queuing to receive their uniforms. The players are believed to be speaking Korean, although poor audio quality prevented their discussions from being fully understood.
Upon arrival in Russia, North Korean personnel have been asked to fill out a questionnaire providing sizes for hats, headgear, uniforms and shoes. In a copy of the questionnaire shared with CNN, the top of the form is written in Russian, while the various scale options are written in Korean.
Another video circulating on social media, geolocated by CNN, showed troops arriving at the Sergeevka training ground near Russia’s border with China. In the video, a Russian speaker can be heard saying in the background that “we can’t film them”: “There are more… millions are here. There are new reinforcements here. This is just the beginning. There are more.”
The source confirms Kiev’s long-held concerns that North Korea is preparing itself for a more direct role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly warned of Russia and North Korea’s deepening alliance, telling a NATO summit this week that “thousands” of North Korean troops are on their way to Russia.
“From the intelligence I have … they are preparing 10,000 soldiers, different soldiers, ground forces, technical personnel,” Zelensky told reporters, describing it as an “urgent” development he raised with the United States.
South Korean media previously reported that the North would send a total of 12,000 troops, although the number was not included in the National Intelligence Service’s report.
This is the first time that North Korea has intervened significantly in an international conflict. North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world with 1.2 million soldiers, but many of its troops have no combat experience.
Several governments have accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Moscow for its grinding war in Ukraine, despite significant evidence of such transfers that both countries deny.
The two countries, pariahs in the West, have developed increasingly warm relations since Russia’s invasion.
During Putin’s visit to the North Korean capital in June, the two countries pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if the other was attacked, as part of a major defense pact agreed by the autocracies.
Putin said during the visit that the two countries were expanding relations to a “new level”.
Ahead of talks between the two, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un voiced his “full support and solidarity for the struggles of the Russian government, military and people,” specifically pointing to Moscow’s war in Ukraine “to protect its sovereignty, security and regional stability.”
