(MENAFN- UkrinForm) In the last week of October, Russia deployed over 7,000 North Korean soldiers in the areas close to the border with Ukraine.
This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, (GUR ), Ukrinform saw.
"In the last week of October 2024, the aggressor state Russia transferred more than 7,000 soldiers of the North Korean army from the Primorsk Area of the Russian Federation to the regions close to Ukraine," the statement reads.
According to the GUR, the North Korean troops were dispatched on at least 28 military cargo planes operated by Russia's Aerospace Forces.
Moscow armed the DPRK military with 60 mm mortars, AK-12 assault rifles, RPK/PKM machine guns, SVD/SVCh sniper rifles, Phoenix anti-tank missile systems, and RPG-7 grenade launchers.
Also, the North Koreans, or, as the Russian military refers to them, "special Buryats", were handed a few night vision devices, thermal imagers, collimator sights, and binoculars.
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Korea n troops in Russia
The GUR reminded that the N. Korean troops undergo training at five sites across Russia's Far East.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the National Intelligence Service in South Korea assessed that Pyongyang had decided to dispatch 12,000 soldiers to help Russia sustain its war against Ukraine. The contingent is worth four brigades of soldiers, including special forces.
According to Ukraine's defense intelligence, 18 North Korean servicemen attempted to escape from the positions in Russia's Kursk region. They were shortly detained in Briansk region.
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