Russia equips DPRK troops along Ukraine border: Intelligence reveals armaments
Photo: How Russia armed the 7,000 DPRK troops deployed to Ukraine's border (Getty Images)
Russia has deployed 7,000 North Korean troops to areas near Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence has uncovered what the "recruits" have been armed with, according to the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (DIU).
In the last week of October, Russia transferred over 7,000 soldiers from North Korea’s army from the Primorsky Krai to regions close to Ukraine.
"Moscow has armed North Koreans with, among other things, 60 mm mortars, AK-12 assault rifles, RPK/PKM machine guns, SVD/SVCh sniper rifles, Phoenix anti-tank guided missiles, and RPG-7s," intelligence sources revealed.
The North Korean soldiers, or “special Buryats” as they are referred to in the Russian occupation army, were also provided with some night vision devices, thermal imagers, collimator sights, and binoculars.
“The North Korean forces were transported by at least 28 military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces,” DIU added.
North Korean troops’ involvement in Ukraine
In early October, it was reported that North Korea might send its regular troops to Ukraine to support Russian soldiers on the front lines.
Initially, reports mentioned over 10,000 North Korean soldiers and three generals set to participate in battles in the Kursk region as early as November.
According to The Wall Street Journal, North Korea has not provided elite troops for Russia's war in Ukraine, though earlier reports indicated that North Korea had transferred its special forces unit to Russia.
