The first North Korean troops will soon arrive in Russia's Kursk region, where they will assist the Russian army, said Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

According to Budanov, the first North Korean troops are expected to arrive in Russia’s Kursk region tomorrow, on Wednesday, October 23, to help defend it against Ukraine’s ongoing incursion.

“We are waiting for the first units tomorrow in the Kursk direction,” Budanov told The War Zone on Tuesday.

He noted that it is unclear at the moment how many or how they will be equipped.

“We will see after a couple of days,” he added.

As reported, the involvement of North Korean troops by Russia in the war against Ukraine will lead to a serious escalation and will also indicate the great difficulties that the Kremlin is facing, said newly appointed French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who arrived in Kyiv.

On October 15, sources in Ukrainian military intelligence told the Interfax-Ukraine agency that Russian occupiers had formed a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK; 18 North Korean servicemen had already fled from their positions on the border of Ukraine with Bryansk and Kursk regions of the Russian Federation. Sources in the GUR reported the formation of a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK in the 11th Air Assault Brigade of the Russian occupation army. The estimated number of personnel is up to 3,000 people.

Earlier, Budanov, in a comment to The War Zone, said that about 11,000 North Korean infantrymen are currently training to participate in the war in Ukraine in the east of the Russian Federation; they will be ready by November 1. The head of the GUR said that the first group of 2,600 soldiers will go to Kursk region, where Ukraine has created a bridgehead. Where the remaining North Korean soldiers will go is not known yet.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha expressed confidence that the Kremlin wants to use the DPRK military in armed aggression against Ukraine as cannon fodder. According to him, the participation of the DPRK military in the Russian war against Ukraine is a huge threat to further escalation, it’s about the scaling of armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

On October 18, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that as of today, there is no evidence of North Korean soldiers being sent to Russia to participate in the war with Ukraine. Later, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov indicated that the Ukrainian side had provided NATO allies with evidence of the preparation of North Korean citizens for participation in the war.

In turn, South Korean intelligence confirmed that the DPRK had already sent 1,500 special forces to the Russian Federation to participate in the war with Ukraine.