Ukrainian media: Eighteen North Koreans escape from Russian army

Eighteen North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia have abandoned their positions and deserted. This was reported by the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The North Koreans were said to be part of a "special Buryat battalion."

According to the newspaper, which is based on sources from Ukrainian security services, the North Koreans were stationed in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk, about seven kilometers from the Ukrainian border. It is unknown why the North Koreans fled, but the newspaper states that the Russian armed forces have launched a search operation to retrieve the deserters.

This is not the first time there has been talk of a special battalion; earlier reports circulated about the formation of a "special Buryat battalion" within the Russian army. The unit was formed within the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade, according to sources within the Defense Forces of RBC-Ukraine. The Buryat battalion is said to consist of around 3,000 men and is expected to be deployed around the settlements of Sudzha and Kursk.

Follow the developments in Ukraine on our live blog Live blog | Zelensky invited to EU summit to explain victory plan

North Korean officers There are increasing reports of more active North Korean participation in the war against Ukraine. Initially, North Korea, which maintains warm ties with Moscow, only supplied military hardware and 155 mm shells for artillery. Last week, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Yong-hyun reported that North Korean soldiers were actually being deployed on the front lines in Donetsk.

According to the South Korean minister, six North Korean officers were killed in combat last week. "We estimate that it is very likely that there have been casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine, given the various circumstances," said the minister, who also stated that North Korea is expected to send more infantry to support Russia's war efforts.

Thousands in training Earlier, The Washington Post reported, based on an anonymous Ukrainian military official, that "several thousand" North Korean soldiers were being trained in Russia to be deployed by the end of this year. The official said that North Korean officers are already on-site in Russian-occupied Ukraine to observe Russian troops and study the battlefield, but Kyiv has not yet seen any North Korean units fighting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed claims that Pyongyang would send soldiers to fight in Ukraine as a "hoax" on Thursday.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, which is part of the National Security and Defense Council, posted on Telegram later today that Pyongyang had already sent troops, including military engineers overseeing the use of weapons, and "some have already died."

Impact The Ukrainian military intelligence officer said it is unclear where the combat units training in Russia will be deployed on the Ukrainian front. Moscow could deploy them in Russian border regions, freeing up Russian troops to fight in Ukraine, according to the official. "It could have a significant impact, especially if we are talking about freeing up reserves on the territory of the Russian Federation itself," said the official.

North Korean workers According to the newspaper, Russia and North Korea already discussed the possibility of sending North Korean workers to the Russian-occupied eastern part of Ukraine to assist with reconstruction in 2022. Russian officials openly welcomed the possible arrival of North Korean workers. According to Daily NK, a Seoul-based monitoring group with informants in North Korea, some workers indeed appear to have been sent to the Ukrainian Donbas region. Based on unnamed sources in North Korea and Russia, Daily NK reported in April that Pyongyang had sent about 150 new workers to Ukraine to help with the reconstruction.

Advisors That, instead of workers, North Korean weapons instructors are now active in Russia is not illogical. Where Russia used to mainly export weapons, it now imports them, particularly from North Korea. Although the weapons from Pyongyang are based on old Soviet technology, the North Koreans have made modifications that require personal guidance and supervision, according to a former South Korean intelligence advisor who is now a North Korea analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. "The front line is where these weapons are being used, so naturally, North Koreans would oversee their use at the front rather than from Moscow," said the analyst, noting that the presence of technical advisors might indicate that Pyongyang is not just supplying artillery shells that can easily be fitted into Russian weapons but also more advanced weapons such as armored vehicles, missiles, and multiple rocket launchers that require personal guidance.

North Korea previously sent military personnel to Syria. In 2016, North Korean missile technicians traveled to Damascus and reportedly stayed in Syrian military facilities, helping to operate chemical and missile factories in Barzah, Adra, and Hama, according to a UN panel of experts overseeing North Korea's sanction-evasive activities.