Choo Jae-woo

On Oct. 23, the United States confirmed the deployment of North Korean forces to Russia. John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, disclosed evidence of 3,000 North Korean military personnel being sent to Vladivostok in early to mid-October. It took Washington exactly a week to confirm the allegations initially revealed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 16th.

In the following days, the Korean intelligence agency speculated that approximately 10,000 troops were being deployed. A few days later, Zelenskyy was briefed by his intelligence advisor that 12,000 North Korean soldiers from two brigades were being deployed toward Russia’s warfront in the state of Kursk, with one brigade expected to be in action soon. Korean intelligence, however, observed that the North Korean forces had not yet been deployed westward toward Moscow, but were being gathered in the Vladivostok region in Russia's Far East.

In response, Russia denied North Korea’s involvement, and North Korea remained silent. Earlier this month, when speculation arose, the Kremlin spokesperson denied the allegations, claiming it was "fake news." As recently as Oct. 23, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during a press briefing that the reports were "false and exaggerated." Two days earlier, however, a subtle shift was noted in the Kremlin spokesperson's statement. Dmitry Peskov described the reports of North Korean troop deployment to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine as "contradictory," neither confirming nor denying the claims. He further noted, “The........

© The Korea Times