Western and Ukrainian sources report that North Korea is beginning to directly support Russia in the war against Ukraine not only by supplying weapons, but also by sending troops. In particular, Kyiv and analysts warn about the appearance of North Korean special forces on the front, which may soon be involved in hostilities.
According to South Korean intelligence, about 1,500 special forces have already been transferred to Vladivostok, and their further deployment is expected in the near future.
The head of the GUR Budanov said that about 2,600 soldiers will be sent to Kursk by November 1.
"North Korea's Special Operations Forces (SOF) are one of the most secretive units of their kind in the world and a mystery to Western nations. They seem loyal to the regime and highly qualified, but do not have advanced military equipment," the article says.
According to the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, the servicemen were issued Russian military uniforms, weapons and fake identity cards. It is expected that they will be sent to Ukraine after the acclimatization training is completed.
Founded around 1968, North Korea's SOF is best known for its failed attempt to take over the Blue House, the residence of South Korea's president. The attack ended with the death of 29 out of 31 operatives.
The publication writes that it is unclear what role non-Russian-speaking special forces will play on Ukraine's eastern front, which has gradually turned into a war of attrition - hardly a traditional arena for covert missions.
A July report by Maxwell Goldstein, an analyst at London-based consulting firm Gray Dynamics, described Special Operations Forces as "highly trained troops equipped with the best available equipment to carry out dangerous but important missions."
He said that the SOF consists of 12 light infantry brigades, three reconnaissance units for operations behind enemy lines, three airborne divisions and three general sniper units, as well as sniper brigades that are part of the Air Force and Navy .
The number of SOF is estimated at 200,000, which is unusual compared to other international special forces units. The British SAS is thought to have only 500 active soldiers at any one time, while the American Delta Force has around 2,000 active members.
At the same time, the general director of Gray Dynamics, Ahmed Hassan, believes that the special forces are considered "special" by the standards of the North Korean army, and not by the criteria applied to the special forces of NATO or Russia.
“If there's a ranking from 1 to 10, and let's say 1 is a basic soldier and 10 is, say, Delta Force or SAS, then North Korean special forces are number 5. They do not have a similar idea of what special operations are, as according to NATO standards. For them, it is everything that goes beyond the scope of an ordinary soldier," says the CEO of Gray Dynamics, Ahmed Hassan.
