The Russian military is forming a battalion of North Korean soldiers to reinforce its frontline units in Ukraine, sources from Kyiv’s military intelligence unit (HUR) have claimed.
As many as 3,000 North Korean troops will reportedly form part of the Special Buryat Battalion within Moscow’s 11th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade.
45.5% of the North Korean population was undernourished between 2020 and 2022, according to the annual “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report” published Wednesday, up from 41% from between 2019 and 2021.
Almost 12 million North Koreans are undernourished, a new U.N. report shows, a massive surge of more than 1 million people compared to data from the same assessment last year.
Only four other countries — Madagascar, Somalia, Central African Republic, Lesotho — have a higher percentage of undernourished citizens than North Korea, according to the U.N. report. North Korea is also an extreme outlier among its neighbors, as the average percentage of undernourished people in East Asian countries is below 2.5%.
The latest assessment comes amid persistent reports of food shortages in the DPRK during the pandemic, with the South Korean government stating that “significant” numbers of people are dying of starvation in some areas.
The battalion may be deployed near Sudzha and Kursk, where Ukrainian forces executed a surprise incursion in summer.
“Putin is doing everything possible to delay and avoid the decision to conduct a new full-fledged wave of mobilization on the territory of the Russian Federation,” a source told the Kyiv Post.
The new battalion is currently being supplied with small arms and ammunition in preparation for official deployment, the source added.
A Ukrainian military officer expressed doubts about the effectiveness of Russia’s North Korean reinforcements in actual combat situations.
He claimed that these foreign troops are outdated and poorly equipped, which could lead to higher casualty rates.
Last week, South Korea’s defense chief reported that six North Korean military officials were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack near Donetsk.
With this alleged vulnerability, the Ukrainian officer speculated that the role of North Korea soldiers in Ukraine would likely involve high-risk operations aimed at alleviating pressure on Russian forces.
Reports of North Korea sending troops to Russia have gained traction following the recent signing of a mutual defense agreement between the two nations.
The agreement stipulates that Pyongyang and Moscow are obligated to assist each other militarily if either is attacked or enters a state of war.
But prior to that, the Asian nation had already been reported to be supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia for its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
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