Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
North Korean soldiers may be ready to go to the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Russian lawmakers told reporters on Tuesday, citing the country’s intelligence officials and South Korean lawmakers.
About 10,000 North Korean soldiers are undergoing military training in eastern Russia, the Pentagon estimated Monday — up 3,000 from the White House’s earlier estimate.
Lawmakers Lee Seong-kweun and Park Sun-won said South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) is now “looking into the possibility of some North Korean personnel, including high-ranking military officers, going to the front lines”. by the NIS during a closed-door meeting of the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee.
Russia is teaching North Korean soldiers about 100 basic military words such as “fire” and “in position,” the lawmakers said.
Still, it’s clear that North Korean soldiers are struggling to communicate — and it’s unclear whether they can bridge the language gap.
North Korea has stepped up its security measures – to protect its dictator Kim Jong Un and to prevent North Korea’s messages to Russia from spreading into the highly isolated, impoverished nation.
To this end, North Korean officials involved in the Russian initiative have been banned from using phones, while families of military personnel have been told their loved ones are simply taking part in “military training”.
The video appears to show North Korean soldiers receiving uniforms and equipment at a Russian training base
Despite these measures, the message sent to Russia has spread inside North Korea – fueling “quietness” in parts of the country, lawmakers said.
Some residents and soldiers have expressed fear of being sent to Russia, while others have questioned why they are being sacrificed for another country.
Last week, Ukraine intercepted Russian transmission channels and released audio in which Russian soldiers were heard swearing at incoming North Korean soldiers, calling them the “K Battalion” and referring to them as “f**king Chinese.”
The intercepts also reveal plans to have one translator and three senior officers for every 30 North Korean men, a move Russian soldiers are heard on audio condemning.
“There’s only one thing I don’t understand [should be] Three senior officers for 30 people. Where to get them? We have to pull them out,” says a Russian serviceman.
This is the first time that North Korea has intervened significantly in an international conflict. North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world with 1.2 million soldiers, but most of its troops have no combat experience.
The Kremlin initially denied accusations of deploying North Korean troops, but at last week’s BRICS summit in Russia, President Vladimir Putin did not deny Pyongyang had sent troops to the country.
North Korea said on Friday that sending any troops to Russia to help with its war in Ukraine would comply with international law, state media reported, without explicitly confirming such a presence. North Korea has previously denied such reports.
North Korean Foreign Minister Cho Son Hui arrived in Russia on Monday, his second visit in six weeks after leaving Pyongyang. And he may have traveled to discuss sending North Korean troops — and what Pyongyang would get in return, lawmakers told reporters.
The news also comes as South Korea’s foreign and defense ministers arrive in Washington to speak with their counterparts, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, for the annual cabinet meeting.
