The South Korean National Intelligence Service claimed Friday that more than 1,000 soldiers of the North Korean military are being transported to Russia.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s regime dispatched approximately 1,500 soldiers of the Korean People’s Army to aid the Russian military in its invasion of Ukraine, the South Korean intelligence said.
The NIS published photos to its website purportedly showing Russian operations clandestinely moving the troops via boat. The officials claimed a total of seven Russian military ships had been observed ferrying personnel and ammunition from North Korea to the port city of Vladivostok, Russia, between Oct. 8 and Oct. 13.
The NIS provided more granular data based on observations through satellite imagery and intelligence gathering, such as claiming to have confirmed North Korean Munitions Industry Department Vice Director Kim Jong-sik visited the KN-23 missile launch site near the Russia-Ukraine front lines.
Similarly, transport planes have been spotted making regular flights between Pyongyang and Vladivostok.
South Korean officials said North Korean soldiers are being given Russian uniforms and fake Siberian identification documents in order to disguise the outside soldiers as Yakutia and Buryatia natives of Russia, who bear a passing resemblance to Koreans.
The Ukrainian government has separately asserted that North Korea has quietly entered the conflict through the deployment of troops and ammunition.
“From our intelligence, we’ve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the press during a visit to NATO headquarters.
He claimed North Korea was “preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers” but that these personnel have not yet been deployed into Russian or Ukrainian territory.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has acknowledged North Korea’s material and military support for the Russian invasion but said there is “no evidence” of Korean People’s Army personnel directly entering the conflict.
The U.S. Department of State has declined to weigh in on the rumors of North Korean deployments to Russia, but it has acknowledged that if the rumors are true, it would signal a low point in the aggressor state’s self-sufficiency.
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“Deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is a trend that should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global non-proliferation regime, and supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal war of aggression,” a State Department spokesperson previously told the Washington Examiner.
“If these reports are confirmed to be true, they would continue to demonstrate Russia’s profound desperation,” the spokesperson added.