North Korean soldiers were filmed training at a Russian military base amid reports that they will be soon deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine.
Pro-Russian military bloggers posted and shared the video footage on social media channels.
The images show what appear to be North Korean soldiers in full battle gear being put through their paces at a military training base.
Open source investigators claim the video was shot at a training ground in Sergeevka in the Primorsky Territory, which is in Russia’s Far East.
However, there has been no official confirmation of the video’s authenticity.
President Zelensky has claimed that Pyongyang has sent around 10,000 of its troops to Russia.
He commented during a visit to Brussels on Thursday to promote his “victory plan”, which envisages NATO membership for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president described the potential deployment of North Korean troops as “the first step to a world war”.
Ukraine believes Russia will try to pass off the North Korean as Buryats from Siberia.
Buryats, who have their own ethnic republic in eastern Siberia, are closely related to the Mongols.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) claims Pyongyang started to transport troops to Russia on October 8th.
Officials from the agency said that special forces were transported by a navy ship to Russia between October 8th and 13th.
Four landing vessels and three escort ships belonging to the Russian Pacific Fleet completed the first transport of approximately 1,500 North Koreans from areas near Chongjin, Hamhung and Musudan to Vladivostok.
This is the first time the Russian Navy has entered North Korean waters since 1990.
In addition, large transport aircraft such as the Russian Air Force’s AN-124 frequently fly between Vladivostok and Pyongyang.
North Korea has been supplying the Russian army with missiles and artillery shells since an agreement was struck last year between Putin and Kim Jong-un.
The NIS says the North Koreans are stationed at bases in Russia’s Far East, including Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Blagoveshchensk.
They are expected to be deployed to the frontlines as soon as they complete their adaptation training.
