North Korean soldiers learning Russian commands and may be sent to Ukraine front lines, South Korean lawmakers say

A TV at Yongsan Railway Station in Seoul shows a satellite image of Russia’s Ussuriysk military facility, where South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported North Korean personnel gathering, on October 19, 2024.
Published October 29, 2024
Seoul, South Korea CNN — North Korean soldiers may be being readied for a move to the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine after being taught basic Russian commands, South Korean lawmakers told reporters on Tuesday, citing the country’s intelligence officials.

About 10,000 North Korean soldiers are receiving military training in eastern Russia, the Pentagon estimated on Monday – up from a previous estimate of 3,000 by the White House.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) is now watching for the possibility of “some North Korean personnel, including high-ranking military officials, moving to the front lines,” said lawmakers Lee Seong-kweun and Park Sun-won, who were briefed by the NIS during a closed-door meeting of a parliamentary intelligence committee.

Russia is teaching North Korean soldiers about 100 basic military words like “fire” and “in position,” the lawmakers said.

However, they added, it’s clear that North Korean soldiers are struggling to communicate – and it’s not clear whether they’ll be able to bridge the language gap.

North Korea has also stepped up its security measures – both to protect its dictator Kim Jong Un and to prevent news of the North Korean deployments to Russia from spreading within the highly isolated, impoverished country.

READ FULL ARTICLE

SOURCE: www.cnn.com

RELATED: North Korea and Russia send political shockwaves with Ukraine war moves

Published October 29, 2024
MOSCOW/SEOUL Oct 29 (Reuters) – North Korea’s foreign minister arrived in Russia on Tuesday for talks as the Russia-Ukraine war appeared to take a dangerous new turn, with NATO and South Korea expressing alarm that North Korean troops could soon be joining in on Moscow’s side.
NATO said on Monday that thousands of North Korean troops were moving toward the front line.
The development has alarmed Kyiv, which has said sanctions would not be enough and called for more weapons and an international plan to keep the North Korean troops at bay.
South Korea, which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed North decades after the 1950-1953 Korean War, also condemned the deployments, with officials in Seoul particularly worried about what Russia may be providing to Pyongyang in return.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Russia’s far east on Tuesday on her way to Moscow, Russian state media said. Russian state news agencies said it was not clear who Choe, making her second visit in six weeks, would meet in Moscow.
READ FULL ARTICLE

SOURCE: www.cnn.com