Russian soldiers have been heard voicing their concerns about the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, according to leaked audio intercepts obtained by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and released on Friday.
In the intercepted audio, Russian servicemen discuss the incoming North Korean soldiers, codenamed the “K Battalion,” with one soldier referring to them as “the f**king Chinese.” The soldiers also express confusion about the command structure and the provision of ammunition and military equipment for the North Korean recruits.
The intercepts, obtained from encrypted Russian transmission channels on the night of October 23, reveal plans for North Korean troop movements in the Kursk region of Russia, an area bordering Ukraine that has seen ongoing military operations. Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the region earlier this year.
According to the intercepted audio, there are plans to have one interpreter and three senior officers for every 30 North Korean men, a decision that the Russian soldiers condemn. “The only thing I don’t understand is that there [should be] three senior officers for 30 people. Where do we get them? We’ll have to pull them out,” one Russian serviceman says.
The leaked audio follows an announcement from Ukraine’s military intelligence service on Thursday, stating that a group of North Korean soldiers had been spotted in Russia’s Kursk region after receiving training in Russia’s far east.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he received a report on the deployment of North Korean military personnel from Ukraine’s commander-in-chief. He criticized the BRICS summit staged by Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Kazan, saying, “According to intelligence, on October 27-28, Russia will deploy its first North Korean troops in combat zones. This is a clear step in Russia’s escalation that matters, unlike all the disinformation circulating in Kazan these days.”
The Kremlin initially dismissed allegations of North Korean troop deployments, but during the BRICS summit, Putin did not deny that Pyongyang had sent soldiers to the country. North Korea said on Friday that any troop deployment to Russia to aid the war in Ukraine would conform with international law, without explicitly confirming such presence.
President Zelensky urged the international community to apply pressure on both Moscow and Pyongyang to comply with the UN Charter and punish escalation, stating, “The actual involvement of North Korea in combat should be met not with a blind eye and confused comments, but with tangible pressure.”
