North Korean troops are experiencing numerous “difficulties” fighting for Russia in Ukraine, according to British intelligence.
Pyongyang has sent around 10,000 fighters to the region as part of a military co-operation agreement with Kiev, the Ministry of Defence said in its latest update on the war.
It is “almost certain” that some have already been deployed in the Kursk region, the MoD said in a post on X.
However, the intelligence update said the North Korean and Russian troops would “almost certainly experience interoperability difficulties having not previously carried out joint military exercises”.
The MoD added: ”[North Korean] troops conducting combat operations would almost certainly have issues operating Russian equipment, integrating into Russia’s command and control structure, and working around the language barrier with Russian forces.”
Meanwhile, in a separate intelligence update, the MoD said Vladimir Putin is becoming more reliant on using coercion to control Russians who may be “hostile” to his regime.
They noted how independent Russian media outlets report that convictions on treason charges in the country are now at the highest level for at least nine years.
There were more convictions in the first six months of 2024 than in all of 2023, according to the Russian ministry of justice.
This crackdown reflects Moscow’s altered approach to dealing with potential pushback from the Russian public.
