Putin comments for first time on presence of North Korean units in war in Ukraine

For the first time, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has commented on reports that North Korean troops are being sent to Russia to take part in the war against Ukraine.

Source: Putin at the final press conference of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Russian media report

Details: The question was asked by a journalist from the US television company NBC. He said that satellite images showed the presence of the North Korean military. "What are they doing here?" the journalist asked, "and isn't this a serious escalation of the conflict?"

Putin once again claimed that "it was not Russia's actions that led to the escalation" and accused Western countries of helping Ukraine fight.

The Russian leader recalled that the State Duma had ratified the "comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement with North Korea signed by Putin in Pyongyang this summer. The document provides for "mutual assistance in the event of aggression" against one of its participants. [The State Duma is the lower chamber of the Russian parliament – ed.] 

"We will see how this process develops," Putin added.

Background:

• On 8 October, the South Korean Ministry of Defence said that North Korea was likely to send some of its regular armed forces to Ukraine in support of Russia.
• On 13 October, Zelenskyy said that North Korea was supplying Russia not only with weapons but also with personnel for its military forces, and called on partners to increase their support for Ukraine. On 14 October, Zelenskyy announced that North Korea had essentially joined the war. On 17 October, Zelenskyy stressed that Russia intends to involve about 10,000 soldiers from North Korea in the war against Ukraine.
• On 18 October, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, confirmed that about 11,000 North Korean infantrymen were currently undergoing training in Russia’s east. They will be ready to take part in combat actions against Ukraine as early as 1 November. Ukrainian intelligence expected the arrival of the first North Korean troops on the Kursk front on 23 October.
• On 23 October, South Korean intelligence reported that North Korea had sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support the occupation forces in the war against Ukraine and was also trying to isolate the families of selected soldiers in a certain place to prevent information from spreading.
• The first North Korean military units that had undergone training at training grounds in eastern Russia had arrived in the war zone. They were spotted in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces are conducting an operation, on 23 October.

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