A senior North Korean army official and close aide to leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia to oversee North Korean troops there helping Russia in its war against Ukraine, media reported.
The North Korean troops, who according to the latest reports are mobilizing near the front lines in Ukraine, will be overseen by Kim Yong Bok, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Saturday, citing a Ukrainian military source.
Kyodo said it obtained a list of military officers in charge of the North Korean troops recently sent to Russia, and Kim Yong Bok was at the top.
Although exactly when Kim Yong Bok arrived in Russia was not known, it was confirmed that he was there last Thursday, according to Kyodo.
Ukraine said last week that about 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were in Russia undergoing training.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to deny or confirm that North Korea had sent troops to help his army, adding that Russia and North Korea would themselves decide how to implement a pact they struck in June that includes a mutual defense clause to help each other in case of external aggression.
The arrival of the North Koreans has raised fears in Ukraine, its Western allies and South Korea about what they see as a dangerous escalation of the Ukrainian war.
Kim Yong Bok’s profile has risen over the past year. His position as deputy chief of the army was confirmed when he was reported in state media as a member of Kim Jong Un’s entourage during a visit to a key operational training base in western North Korea in March.
Moving to the front
Kim Yong Bok accompanied the North Korean leader on a tour of reconstruction efforts in flood-hit areas of North Pyongan province, as reported in state media on Sept. 30, and at artillery live-fire drills by military academy graduates, reported on Oct. 6.
News of Kim Yong Bok’s arrival in Russia came amid media reports that North Korean troops were mobilizing near the front lines in Ukraine, and combat with Ukrainian forces could begin this week.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Sunday that Russia was transporting North Korean soldiers to the front lines in trucks with civilian license plates.
Russian police on Sunday stopped a Kamaz truck with civilian license plates on the Kursk-Voronezh highway, the intelligence agency said, adding that the vehicle was reportedly loaded with North Korean military personnel, but the driver did not have documented combat orders.
Separately, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the first North Korean troops had made the nearly 6,500 kilometer (4,038 mile) journey to the Kursk region as of Wednesday, with thousands more arriving daily.
Citing troop movement data from a senior Ukrainian military officer, the newspaper said that as many as 5,000 North Korean soldiers were expected to have arrived by Monday.
RELATED STORIES
Russia and North Korea don‘t deny reports of Pyongyang’s involvement in Ukraine war
Ukraine urges North Korean soldiers to surrender, offering food, shelter
Russia pays North Korean soldiers about $2,000 a month: South’s spy agency
South Korea last week released detailed satellite images it said showed the first deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. The United States also said on Wednesday it had seen evidence that North Korea had sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine.
On Friday, North Korean state media cited its vice foreign minister in charge of Russian affairs as saying he had heard a “rumor” spread by foreign media that troops had been sent to Russia.
The vice minister declined to confirm if troops were indeed there, saying that his ministry was separate from the Ministry of Defense.
Edited by Mike Firn.