DPRK is already deploying several brigades and Special Forces in Russia

18 October, 2024 Soldiers of the Special Operations Forces of the North Korean Armed Forces South Korean intelligence reports that 12,000 North Korean troops, including Special Forces, have been dispatched to fight in the war against Ukraine. The South Korean edition of Yonhap News Agency reported on this with reference to the National Intelligence Service.

The intelligence agency said on October 18 that North Korea had decided to send four brigades and Special Forces units totaling up to 12,000 people. It is reported that the DPRK had already begun deploying the units, but what exactly was meant by that was not specified.

Deployment of the North Korean troops

Today, Militarnyi published what is likely to be the first video evidence of North Korean military training on the Russian territory. It shows people in the Russian military uniforms, who look like the North Korean citizens, moving through the territory of a Russian military unit.

The cameraman's sleeve chevron with the symbols of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation, which borders the DPRK, can be seen in the frame. Such chevrons are worn instead of the symbols of military units, in particular, by the employees of the training centers and garrisons of military training grounds.

Chevron of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation

The Ukrainian OSINT project CyberBoroshno geolocated the shooting site (here) in the village of Sergeevka, the Pogranichny district, the Primorsky Krai. It is located just 230 kilometers from the border with North Korea.

The military units of the 127th Motor Rifle Division are located in this settlement. The unit is part of the 5th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District. It regards the following units:

  • Division command, military unit 44980 (Sergeevka village);
  • 143rd motor rifle regiment, military unit 21634 (Sergeevka);
  • 394th motor rifle regiment, military unit 25573 (Sergeevka);
  • 218th tank regiment, military unit 82588 (Sergeevka);
  • 872nd self-propelled artillery regiment, military unit 75234 (Segeevka).
The base of the 127th Infantry Division and the location of the video

According to the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the first cadre of 2,600 soldiers will go to the Kursk region to reinforce the group trying to drive out the Ukrainian troops.

According to him, the North Korean troops will use Russian equipment and ammunition. However, there are also unconfirmed reports that North Korea has transferred its self-propelled artillery systems. LIGA reported, citing sources of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, that one of the formed battalions of the North Korean military would be part of the 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces.

It should consist of about 3,000 North Korean citizens.

Militarnyi's sources say that the Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade is currently fighting in the Kursk sector.

Its permanent location is in Ulan-Ude.

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