Ukraine warns that the first North Korean fighters have already arrived in Kursk to help Russia

Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) has warned this Thursday that the first north korean soldiers have already reached the front of the war in the Russian region of Kurskwhere Ukrainian troops occupy part of the territory after the incursion that began in August.

“The first units of the army of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, trained in the training grounds of eastern Russia, They have already reached the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Specifically, on October 23, its appearance was recorded in the Russian region of Kursk,” the GUR said on its Telegram channel.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the The number of North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia is currently about 12,000of which 500 are officers, including three generals.

Those soldiers are trained in five military training camps located in eastern Russia and the person responsible for supervising training is the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.

“The soldiers sent by Pyongyang are provided with ammunition, bedding, winter clothing and footwear, as well as hygiene items. Specifically, Moscow will provide 50 meters of toilet paper and 300 grams of soap to each North Korean soldier monthly, according to the established norms,” ​​says the GUR

Ukrainian military intelligence affirms that several weeks are allocated to the coordination of the North Korean Army, which Russia intends to use it in the war against Ukraine.

“Putin is desperate”

The Pentagon admitted on Wednesday for the first time that it was aware of the presence of North Korean troops in Russian territory, while the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) estimated the number of soldiers already sent by Pyongyang to the Russian Federation at around 3,000, where They would be receiving training to join Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

The deputy spokesperson for the Pentagon, Sabrina Singh, considered this Thursday that this deployment of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine only reveals that Putin is “desperate” and has not achieved his war objectives in Ukraine.

Regarding the accusations from Seoul and Washington, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, He assured this Thursday that his country and North Korea They will decide how and when to apply article 4 of mutual military assistance in case of aggression included in the association treaty signed by both countries.

The Russian president also denied that it is his country that is escalating the situation, since it is the West that arms Ukraine and it is NATO soldiers who are directly participating in the conflict.