North Korean Troops Spotted in Russia, New Video Appears to Show

New footage appears to show North Korean troops in Russian territory bordering the secretive nation, in the latest report indicating Pyongyang intends to supply soldiers to fight for Russia against Ukraine.

The clip, posted by Russian opposition outlet Astra on messaging app Telegram on Tuesday, purports to show North Korean troops at a military base in Russia’s Primorsky region, north of North Korean territory. The footage had been geolocated to the Sergeevka training ground in the eastern Russian region, said Astra.

Newsweek could not independently verify the clip, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Soldiers parade in Pyongyang, on April 15, 2017. New footage appears to show North Korean troops in Russian territory bordering the secretive nation, according to an independent Russian outlet.
Soldiers parade in Pyongyang, on April 15, 2017. New footage appears to show North Korean troops in Russian territory bordering the secretive nation, according to an independent Russian outlet.
Iliya Pitalev/Sputnik via AP

Spravdi, a center dedicated to countering misinformation established by Ukraine’s government, said late last week that it had obtained “exclusive” footage of North Korean soldiers receiving Russian military gear at the Sergeevka facility.

Ukrainian officials have increasingly sounded the alarm over North Korea’s hand in Russia’s war effort in recent weeks.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said during a visit to European Union and NATO leaders on Thursday that North Korea was “getting involved in the war” between Kyiv and Moscow, telling its allies that Pyongyang was “already preparing a contingent to fight against Ukraine.”

“I know that there is an intention to prepare 10,000 soldiers from different branches of the armed forces,” he said. Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, has indicated that an initial cohort of around 2,600 North Korean troops would be sent to Kursk, the Russian border region where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in August.

North Korean troops directly fighting with Russia would mark a significant escalation in Pyongyang’s involvement in the war on behalf of its key ally. So far, no formal military forces from a country outside the conflict has committed a major chunk of forces to the front lines at a time where both Russia and Ukraine are looking for solutions to manpower shortages.

South Korea’s intelligence agency said on Friday that its northern neighbor had sent around 1,500 special forces personnel to the Russian port city of Vladivostok, with more forces expected to arrive soon.

The soldiers are “expected to be deployed to the front lines as soon as they complete their adaptation training,” Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said in a statement.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it had summoned Moscow’s ambassador to Seoul to demand an “immediate” withdrawal of North Korean fighters.

South Korea “condemned in the strongest terms the illegal military cooperation, including the North’s troop deployment, and sternly warned that South Korea will respond with every possible means, with the international community, to any acts that threaten the core interests of South Korea,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

“North Korea is our close neighbor, our partner, and we are developing our relations in all areas. This is our sovereign right,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“This should not worry anyone, because this cooperation is not directed against third countries,” Peskov said in remarks reported by state media, adding that Moscow would “continue to develop this cooperation.” He did not elaborate further on what this cooperation looked like, describing reports of North Korean fighters integrating into Moscow’s forces as “contradictory” without explicitly denying the allegations.

Peskov had previously dismissed this as “fake news.”

Ukrainian outlet The Kyiv Post reported this month that a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-held territory in the eastern Donetsk region killed six North Korean personnel, citing anonymous Ukrainian intelligence sources.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said following the report that it was likely true.

“As Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual treaty akin to a military alliance, the possibility of such a deployment is highly likely,” Kim said, referring to a mutual defense pact Pyongyang and Moscow signed in June.

NATO has not confirmed that North Korea has deployed troops in support of Russia but has invited South Korea for a briefing to the alliance.

Update 10/22/24, 8 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.