(3rd LD) N. Korean advance unit possibly moving to war front line in Russia: S. Korean spy agency

▲ National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Cho Tae-yong (3rd from L, back) and other intelligence officials attend a parliamentary audit session at the NIS headquarters in Seoul on Oct. 29, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

▲ This Oct. 18, 2024, footage posted on X by the Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security of Ukraine shows what appears to be North Korean soldiers receiving apparent Russian gear. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui (C) shakes hands with Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora before leaving for Moscow on Oct. 28, 2024, in this photo provided by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) NK troops-Russia

(3rd LD) N. Korean advance unit possibly moving to war front line in Russia: S. Korean spy agency

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more details from audit; ADDS byline)

By Yi Wonju and Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- An advance team of North Korean troops, including a ranking Army general, is believed to be making its way to the front lines of the war in Russia near Ukraine, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Tuesday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has obtained the intelligence about the troop movement and is verifying the details, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party and Rep. Park Sun-won of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The NIS shared the information to lawmakers during a closed-door parliamentary audit.

The lawmakers quoted the NIS as saying that it is verifying the intelligence that Kim Yong Bok, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, is in the advance unit moving to the front line.

"Kim is already there, in the sense that he is part of an advance team related to the KN-23 missile," the NIS said, referring to the North's short-range ballistic missiles.

Kim is known as a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Reports have said that he has arrived in Russia to supervise North Korean troops dispatched there for use in the war against Ukraine.

The NIS told lawmakers that the intelligence may suggest the deployment of the North Korean troops to the Kursk border region near Ukraine -- a key battlefield that Russia is struggling to take back after a Ukrainian incursion in August -- "is imminent."

The NIS also estimated that most of the North Korean soldiers sent to Russia are in their early 20s, with some possibly in their late teens, but said they should not be underestimated because they likely have undergone all basic training as special forces, known as the "Storm Corps."

The NIS said the Russian military is teaching over 100 military terms in Russian to North Korean soldiers but noted reports of apparent challenges in communication due to language barriers.

The spy agency also assessed that a Russian aircraft traveling between Moscow and Pyongyang on Oct. 23-24 was likely carrying key Russian security officials involved in the North's troop deployment.

A total of 10,900 North Korean troops are expected to be deployed to Russia by December, according to the agency.

On North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui's ongoing visit to Russia, the NIS said she is likely to have discussed additional deployments and compensation for the troops.

As for the possibility of North Korea's provocations, the spy agency said the North could launch hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missiles or intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"With the purchase of advanced parts and technological cooperation from Russia, North Korea appears to be ready to relaunch a military reconnaissance satellite after failing in May," the NIS said. "We are keeping close tabs on the possibility of its seventh nuclear test following the U.S. presidential elections."

The NIS also said some 4,000 North Korean workers were sent to Russia this year.

On Monday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) confirmed that North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's western front-line Kursk region -- a development feared to further escalate the protracted war in Ukraine.

Regarding Ukraine's claim that more than 3,000 "mercenaries" from North Korea have begun training on the ground in Kursk, the NIS acknowledged it as a possibility but said it could not confirm Kyiv's assertion.

On reports the South Korean government was considering sending a team of officials to Kyiv to monitor North Korean troops, the NIS said it was inappropriate to use the term "inspection team" or "interrogation team," without clarifying whether it was planning to send such a team.

The NIS, however, said it was "worth reviewing" the option, stressing it could be a "rare opportunity" to gather military intelligence.

It added that the South Korean government would be obligated to accept North Korean soldiers should they seek defection to the South.

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