KIM JONG-UN has sent Russia 10,000 troops to help them fight against Ukraine, say the Pentagon.
The North Korean dictator has helped out desperate pal Vladimir Putin in his flailing war as Russian soldiers continue to be sent into battle as cannon fodder.
Footage appears to show North Korean troops being trained up by Russia[/caption]
Putin has now suffered over 600,000 casualties as Ukraine fights to valiantly defend itself.
The tyrant’s latest power move to try and wrestle back control of the territory has seen him lean on North Korea for additional men.
Putin has been sent around 10,000 troops to be trained up before being deployed in the Kursk region in “the next several weeks,” says Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
She added: “We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia‘s Kursk region.”
Nato also confirmed North Korean soldiers have been verified as entering into Russia earlier today.
The group’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said the move represents “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict.
It also marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”, he warned.
Despite the threat of an increased conflict, Rutte said it also shows how desperate Vlad has become.
He argued: “Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war, and he is unable to sustain his assault in Ukraine without foreign support,” he said.
“This is because the Ukrainians are fighting back with courage, resilience and ingenuity.”
The secretary general spoke in Brussels after a high-level South Korean delegation – including top intelligence and military officials – briefed the alliance’s 32 national ambassadors at Nato headquarters.
Rutte said Nato is “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine, and with our Indo-Pacific partners,” on developments.
He added he was due to talk soon with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defence minister.
The first talk of North Korean troops being deployed inside Ukraine came when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cited intelligence reports saying the foreign troops where being expected in days.
The claims came last Friday after his government uncovered information saying some 10,000 troops are being readied to join Russian forces.
General Kyrylo Budanov, the head Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence, said the first 2,600 North Koreans may be ready to fight by this Friday.
US and South Korean officials voiced similar concerns with them saying at least 3,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia for training.
Footage appeared to show North Korean troops marching alongside Russian soldiers at a military base near Vladivostok this month.
Nato has slammed the deployment of troops and strengthening relationship of the dictators as ‘a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war’[/caption]
North Korea’s troops are said to be deployed in the Kursk region where fighting has continued for months[/caption]
Video analysed by The Washington Post showed hordes of men who appeared to be of Korean descent at Sergeevka military training ground – near Russia’s eastern border with North Korea.
The clips also included audible Korean phrases spoken with a North Korean accent.
Putin bringing over thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II is set to only pile on more pressure to Ukraine’s weary and outnumbered army.
But a group of nearly 200 defectors who have fled Kim Jong-un‘s regime are hoping to turn things around for Ukraine.
They hope to fight for Ukraine and help demoralise and influence Pyongyang’s troops to join the right side.
The ex-soldiers, currently living in South Korea, offered their military experience to help wage psychological warfare against Moscow’s allies, the South China Morning Post reports.
Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, said: “We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else.
“We’re ready to go wherever needed to work as psychological warfare agents – through loudspeaker broadcasts, distributing leaflets, and even acting as interpreters.”
Another important player in the initiative, Lee Min-bok, has made his appeal directly to the Ukrainian government.
He asked President Zelensky for the green light to help rescue North Korean soldiers.
Nato say the move shows Putin is desperate[/caption]
The aftermath of a Russian strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv earlier this year[/caption]
