Reports have emerged indicating that North Korea has dispatched military pilots to Russia for training on Russian combat aircraft. These pilots are believed to be undergoing training since September in Vladivostok. This development comes alongside news of North Korean ground troops being sent to Russia in early October. Newsweek has highlighted this information, citing unidentified knowledgeable sources, and there have been assertions linking the North Korean pilots’ arrival to Moscow’s plans to equip the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with new aircraft. The South Korean official source corroborated these activities, underscoring the seriousness of this maneuver. U.S. intelligence suggests North Korea possesses over 900 combat aircraft; however, due to fuel shortages and aging equipment, North Korean pilots reportedly receive limited annual flight time, potentially affecting their readiness.

The motivations for these actions seem tied to ongoing geopolitical dynamics and military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. U.S. intelligence reports have also pointed to Russia’s extensive use of Su-25 aircraft in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, a model North Korean pilots might be trained on. This could signify North Korea’s first active combat involvement since the Vietnam War, as suggested by developments covered in various reports, including those from Ukrainian President Volodymy

ملخص الأخبار

• مصادر تشير إلى أن روسيا قد تستخدم الطيارين الكوريين الشماليين في الحرب ضد أوكرانيا.
• الطيارون يتدربون على طائرات سو-25 ومقاتلات ميغ-29، وقد تكون هذه أول مشاركة قتالية لهم منذ حرب فيتنام.
• هناك تقارير عن احتمال مشاركة 10,000 جندي كوري شمالي لدعم القوات الروسية في أوكرانيا.
• رئيس أوكرانيا كان قد أشار إلى وجود ضباط كوريين شماليين في دونباس للتدريب مع العسكريين الروس.