5,000 DPRK troops set to deploy in Kursk region by October 28
Photo: 5,000 DPRK soldiers will be deployed to Kursk region by Monday (Getty Images)
By Monday, October 28, 5,000 North Korean soldiers are set to be deployed to the Kursk region. These are likely troops from the so-called elite unit, according to The New York Times.
On Wednesday, October 23, the first North Korean troops arrived in the Kursk region, "with thousands more arriving each day since."
Informed sources in Ukraine stated that by Monday, October 28, around 5,000 North Korean troops will be gathered in the Kursk region.
According to the source, the troops are part of an elite unit of the Korean People's Army. They are being transported from Vladivostok on large Ilyushin Il-76 transport planes to a military airfield in western Russia and then taken to the combat zone.
Currently, North Korean troops are concentrated only in the Kursk region.
It is noted that the North Korean soldiers have not yet engaged in combat. It remains unclear what role they will play on the front lines. The NYT adds that it is uncertain how the North Korean military will affect the dynamics on the battlefield. North Korean forces have not participated in any war since the 1950s, raising questions about the capabilities of even their elite units.
North Korean troops to be engaged in war
North Korea has sent troops to Russian territory. Intelligence reports indicate they have undergone training at four training grounds. The reported number of North Korean troops varies. Western intelligence and South Korea estimate about 3,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia.
Ukrainian intelligence claims that North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the first North Korean soldiers would arrive in the combat zone on October 27-28.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense published intercepted communications from Russians preparing to receive North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.
