“Thousands of Russian soldiers made the right choice and are now waiting for the end of the war in good conditions: comfortable barracks, hot meals, medical care. No matter how many soldiers Pyongyang sends to help Russia, no matter in what direction — Ukrainian POW camps are ready to accept soldiers of any nationality, religion and ideological views. Contacts of our project are unchanged,” the POW staff added.
NATO on Monday asked South Korea to send a delegation to brief it on reports that Pyongyang was sending troops to Russia.
The first unverified videos of North Korean soldiers at a military base in Russia were published Friday by pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Telegram.
But the Kremlin has previously called the footage of North Korean soldiers “fake news.” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said the Americans and South Koreans were providing “contradictory information” about Russia’s use of Pyongyang’s soldiers.
Last week, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said the North had already begun deploying four brigades totaling 12,000 troops, including special forces, for the war in Ukraine, with 1,500 special forces already in Russia.
According to the head of Kyiv’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the North Korean troops currently being trained in Russia “will be ready on Nov. 1,” and the troops will use Russian equipment and ammunition.