Thousands of North Korean Soldiers May Deploy to Ukraine by Year-End After Training in russia - WP

A Ukrainian military intelligence representative, who requested anonymity, reported that North Korean officers are already in russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to observe local troops and analyze the battlefield.

However, Ukrainian forces have yet to encounter any North Korean units actively participating in combat, according to the Washington Post.

An episode of military drills in North Korea / Photo source: Korean Central News Agency

The source from the Washington Post noted that it is still uncertain where the North Korean military might position its units along the front. One possibility is the border regions of russia, which would free up russian troops for combat in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian intelligence official emphasized that such a move could significantly affect the situation.

"It could have a significant impact. Especially if we’re talking about freeing up reserves within the territory of the russian federation itself," he said.

Illustrative photo: Kim Jong Un inspects an artillery ammunition factory / Open-source photo

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, which is a part of the national security and defense council, posted on Telegram saying that Pyongyang had already sent troops, including military engineers supervising the use of weapons.

"The Ministry of Defense of South Korea says that North Korea will send military personnel to Ukraine. They have already sent some. I mentioned that North Korean military personnel, in limited numbers, mainly engineers, are overseeing the quality and use of Pyongyang's weapons by the russian army. Some have already been killed. As for the ammunition and KN-23 ballistic missiles, they are mostly of low quality,” Kovalenko noted.