SEOUL, March 5 (UPI) — North Korea recently sent some 3,500 additional soldiers to Russia’s Far East for field training, a South Korean lawmaker said Wednesday, with the possibility of a third wave of troops soon being dispatched to the frontlines of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party outlined the developments in a statement posted on Facebook, citing a briefing from Ukrainian defense intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov during his visit to the country on Feb. 23-26.
Yu said the North sent roughly 12,000 troops to Russia in October and deployed additional forces in January and February, with a second wave of 1,500 soldiers already sent to the frontlines in Russia’s Kursk region after undergoing local adaptation training.
The lawmaker said that there were currently “some 3,500 North Korean soldiers who are undergoing field adaptation training in five locations in Russia’s Far East, and there is a possibility of a third deployment.”
Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June, which includes a defense clause that calls for mutual military assistance in the event either country is attacked.
Casualties have been high for North Korean troops, according to Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency. Yu quoted the most recent figures as approximately 400 killed in action and 3,600 injured, with 300 returned to the frontlines.
An estimated 63,000 Russian and North Korean troops are fighting as a joint force in Kursk, Ukrainian officials said. The North’s communication equipment is outdated and night vision goggles are not in wide supply, but the soldiers appear to be gaining valuable military experience and are regarded as fierce fighters.
“North Korean forces were vulnerable to drone warfare at the beginning of the battle, but they are gradually adapting to modern warfare,” Yu said in the report.
The lawmaker also had the chance to speak with a pair of North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukraine and told a press conference Tuesday that at least one soldier intends to defect to South Korea.
“I really want to go to South Korea,” the soldier, identified by the surname Ri, said in an audio interview. “I want to go there to meet my parents in the future. If I go to South Korea, will I be able to have the rights I want? Can I have a place to live and start a family there?”
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said last month it would accept captured North Korean soldiers who want to come to the South.
“North Korean soldiers are our citizens according to the Constitution,” a ministry official told UPI.
“Therefore, the government will provide necessary protection and support if they request to come to South Korea in accordance with related laws and the basic principle of accepting all requests,” the official said.
In addition to sending troops, North Korea has also supplied munitions to Russia for its war against Ukraine. Pyongyang is receiving hard currency and technical help with its weapons programs, Washington and Seoul claim.
Last week, the North test-fired strategic cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea in a demonstration of what Pyongyang called its nuclear deterrence capability.
