Ukraine intelligence agency says North Korean units already in Kursk region

KYIV — Ukraine's military intelligence service said on Oct 24 that the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August.

The Kremlin has previously dismissed reports about the North's troop deployment as "fake news". But Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Oct 24 that it was Moscow's business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.

The Russian leader did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia.

"The first units of the military from the DPRK, which were trained at the eastern Russian training grounds, have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, on Oct 23, 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region," the Ukrainian intelligence agency said in a statement.

It said a total of around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was responsible for overseeing the training of North Korean military, the agency said.

A US official said the United States had seen the Ukrainian reports of North Korean troops in Kursk and was working to corroborate them.

Ukraine had earlier called on its allies to respond firmly to North Korean involvement in the war by imposing new sanctions and further isolating Pyongyang.

On Oct 23, the US said it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said the North had shipped 3,000 troops, including special forces, to Russia's Far East for training and acclimatising at military bases there, probably to be deployed for combat in the war.

Moscow and Pyongyang ties grew deeper after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership deal in June.

President Putin has said the treaty included a mutual assistance clause for each side to help the other repel external aggression.

North Korea has supplied ballistic missiles and ammunition rounds to Russia for its war in Ukraine, Kyiv and its Western allies say. Pyongyang has denied this.

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