North Korean Deserters Fleeing Kursk May Be Pressed Into Fighting Ukrainian Forces, Intel Claims

North Korean soldiers who attempted to flee from their positions in the Kursk region may be deployed in assaults against Ukrainian forces, sources in Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) told Kyiv Post.

One source from HUR told Kyiv Post that 18 North Korean soldiers who attempted to escape from Russian-occupied positions in the Kursk region were detained by Russian forces in the Komarichsky district of the Bryansk region.

The source reported that around 40 North Korean instructors, along with about 50 Russian soldiers, had been stationed in a forest area near Kolyachek in the Khomutovsky district of the Kursk region.

According to the HUR source: “It was established that the North Koreans were training Russian soldiers in the use of balloons for military purposes, while the Russian soldiers were teaching the North Koreans modern infantry combat tactics, based on experience from the so-called ‘special military operation.’”

After the training course, the North Korean soldiers were left in the forest near Kolyachek, without food or clear instructions on plans for future operations. On Oct. 14, some of the North Koreans decided to leave their positions in search of Russian command.

Two days later, on Oct. 16, the missing soldiers were found and detained by Russian forces, approximately 60 kilometers from their original location, the HUR source said.

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The source added that as of now, all 40 North Korean soldiers stationed in the Khomutovsky district have been transferred to the Lgovsky district of the Kursk region for further involvement in assault operations in the area.

Kyiv Post cannot independently verify this information.

Last week the Suspiline news outlet, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources, reported that 18 North Korean soldiers fled their positions somewhere on the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia, just 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the international border with Ukraine.