<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/10/north-korea-engineers-deployed-russia-ukraine>
"North Korean military engineers have been deployed to help Russia target
Ukraine with ballistic missiles, and fighters operating in occupied areas of
the country have already been killed, senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul said.
There are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in teams that “support
launcher systems for KN-23 missiles”, a source in Ukraine told the Guardian.
Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, last year travelled to Russia for a
summit with Vladimir Putin where the two men bolstered their deepening ties
with a secret arms deal.
Pyongyang’s ammunition shipments were vital in allowing Russian forces to
advance in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine this summer. But it
appears increasingly clear that the agreement went beyond supplying materiel.
North Koreans were among the dead after a Ukrainian missile strike on
Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk last week, South Korean and Ukrainian
officials said. It was not clear if they were military engineers or other
forces.
Foreigners have fought as mercenaries for Russia, but if North Koreans are on
the ground it would mark the first time a foreign government has sent troops in
uniform to support Moscow’s war.
South Korea’s defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told MPs in Seoul this week that
it was “highly likely” that North Korean officers had been deployed to fight
alongside Russians, and several had died in the attack, although he did not
give further details.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation,
said in a post on Telegram that some North Koreans had been killed in Russia.
His organisation is part of the national security and defence council.
On Wednesday the Ukrainian military said they had destroyed North Korean
ammunition in a strike on a depot in the Bryansk region, 75 miles (120 km) from
the Ukrainian border.
Joining the war on Ukraine gives North Korea a chance to test weapons, gain
combat experience for its troops and bolster its standing with a powerful
international ally."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
