Seoul, Oct 29 (EFE).- South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Tuesday that some North Korean troops and high-ranking officers deployed in Russia could already be moving to the Ukrainian front.<\/p>
This information, reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap, comes after the Pentagon said Monday that Pyongyang has sent some 10,000 soldiers by train to eastern Russia.<\/p>
“Troop transfers between North Korea and Russia are underway and we are studying the possibility that some personnel, including high-ranking military generals, will move to the front line,” the service said.<\/p>
According to the source, the Russian military is teaching the North Koreans about 100 Russian terms and there could be “communication problems” between the two sides, although no further details were given.<\/p>
“We believe that a key Russian security official involved in the deployment of North Korean troops was on board the special Russian government plane that traveled between Moscow and Pyongyang on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24,” the NIS said, adding that the purpose of the trip would be to coordinate the deployment of troops.<\/p>
The service\u2019s report comes after the Pentagon said Monday that North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops by train to eastern Russia and said it would “probably” reinforce Russian forces near Ukraine in the coming weeks.<\/p>
“Some of these soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use them in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine,” Pentagon deputy Spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters, adding that she did not know what kind of soldiers they are.<\/p>
North Korea and Russia have been strengthening their military and other cooperation, and in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held a summit in Pyongyang. At that meeting they signed a new partnership treaty that included a mutual defense clause.<\/p>
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui traveled Monday to Russia on an official visit that, according to experts, could be the prelude to Kim’s own visit to Moscow.<\/p>
The foreign minister already visited Russia in September and traveled to Moscow in January, where she met Putin. EFE<\/p>
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