North Korea transported some troops to Russia by sea

North Korea has been ferrying hundreds of its troops to Russia by sea, satellite images show.

At least two Russian ships transported North Korean soldiers to the military port of Dunai in the Far East in October and November, CNN reported.

The transfers were first identified by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), which said in a press release last year that some of the soldiers were transported through the North Korean port areas of Chongjin, Hamhung and Musudan.

Now, researchers have confirmed that during the same time period that South Korean intelligence reported the troop movements, Russian ships docked at the port of Dunai in Russia’s far east.

In North Korea, the soldiers likely boarded the ships at night, making it difficult to obtain evidence of the transfers. But satellite imagery has shown activity in the Danube, “where the Russians appear to have been less cautious.”

For example, one satellite image from Planet Labs shows a crane pulling up to one of the Russian VDKs, which researchers believe is the Nikolai Vilkov, in the port on October 17, with a covered truck parked next to it on the quay.

The researchers were able to identify the Russian Ropucha-class and Alligator-class ships in the satellite imagery because they matched photos taken by the Japanese Ministry of Defense in March 2022 of the ships passing through Japanese waters.

USM previously reported that Chinese fishing vessels were using crews from the DPRK despite a UN ban.