DPRK soldiers are 50 km from the border with Ukraine — Financial Times.

About 3,000 North Korean military personnel were transported to the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. This contingent was transported by civilian trucks. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing senior representatives of Ukrainian intelligence.

Thus, one of the officials said that only a few hundred of these 3,000 were special forces, and the rest were regular troops. On Monday, they were stationed in barracks about 50 km from the Ukrainian border, where they awaited further orders from the Russian command.

The deployment of North Korean military personnel is expected to reinforce the 50,000-strong Russian grouping, which has intensified efforts in recent days to regain control over the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. However, Ukrainian intelligence questions the combat capability of this reinforcement: “They have never left their country before... They have never participated in real combat actions, and their experience is very far from the realities of modern warfare.”

A representative of Ukrainian intelligence noted that North Korean troops only recently saw different types of killer drones for the first Time, which have become widely used on the battlefield. Ukrainian officials also believe that DPRK soldiers may be used by Russia as “cannon fodder.”

One of the representatives of Ukrainian intelligence said that North Korean military personnel do not have experience in trench warfare, so their capabilities for combat actions are in question.

Risks and Strategy

Senior defense analyst at Rand Corporation Scott Boston said that using the North Korean contingent in the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine might deter Pyongyang from sending more prepared fighters.

Defense expert from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, Yang Wook, questioned the feasibility of such a strategy, stating that joint offensive operations require coordination between Russian and North Korean soldiers. He also noted that North Koreans do not speak Russian and have a different strategic culture, making their use as “disposable troops” a challenging task.

One Ukrainian official pointed to the risk of North Korean soldiers being captured, which would indicate DPRK's involvement in the war in Ukraine, noting that this would undermine denials from Moscow and Pyongyang.

Recall that, according to CNN, a small number of North Korean soldiers are already on Ukrainian territory.

Previously, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that Russia has involved North Korean military personnel in the war against Ukraine. According to him, military units from the DPRK are currently deployed in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. President Volodymyr Zelensky also warned that the first DPRK military personnel would be used by Russia in combat zones.

According to Yonhap, North Korea's military supplies allow it to conduct hostilities for three months. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal indicates that DPRK soldiers in Russia are young people who have not yet gained significant military experience.