North Korean Special Forces Could Be a Nightmare For Ukraine: Can Kiev’s Conscript Army Handle Them?

<p >The South Korean National Intelligence Service has reported that North Korea is set to deploy special forces to support the ongoing Russian war effort in the Ukrainian theatre. The service alleged that it detected North Korea’s armed forces “transporting its special forces to Russia via Russian naval transport ships from [Aug] 8th to the 13th, confirming the start of the North Korean military’s participation in the war.” “Four landing ships and three escort ships belonging to the Russian Pacific Fleet completed the first transfer of approximately 1,500 North Korean special forces from the areas near Chongjin, Hamhung, and Musudan to Vladivostok, Russia during the same period, and a second transport operation is expected to take place soon,” it added. It further noted that Russian Air Force An-124 heavy transports “have been frequently traveling between Vladivostok and Pyongyang” with an unknown purposes. The North Korean leadership, including Chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un, were also reported to have “inspected the special forces unit twice before the deployment” on September 11 and October 2. </p><p ><img src=" title="North Korean Special Forces on Parade"></p><p >South Korean and Ukrainian <a href=" of major North Korean military deployments to support the Russian war effort have not been supported by other sources, with both countries having significant incentives to fabricate or exaggerate such deployments to maximise Western Bloc support for their separate ongoing conflicts. Nevertheless, the possibility of North Korean special forces being deployed against Ukrainian and Western Bloc forces in Kursk, the Donbas, and other parts of Ukraine has the potential to further accelerate the already rapid Russian gains being made in the theatre. These forces are considered by many analysts to be among the most capable in the world, and have demonstrated very advanced capabilities both in Syria, where they were reportedly<a href=" target="_blank"> deployed to support </a>counterinsurgency efforts and were described as “lethal” by insurgent leaders, and in South Korea where three special forces personnel became stranded after a submarine crash in 1996. </p><p ><img src=" title="North Korean Special Forces Conduct Amphibious Landing"></p><p >Operating deep inside South Korea, three special forces personnel managed to evade several thousand South Korean soldiers tasked with neutralising or apprehending them for 49 days. By the time two of them were finally found and eliminated they had caused 39 South Korean military casualties in total. The remaining operative was never found, and is assumed to have successfully returned to North Korea. The Korean People’s Army fields by far the most numerous special forces in the world at approximately 180,000 personnel, although some estimates range as low as 120,000 or as high as 200,000. With both Russia and Ukraine <a href=" target="_blank">relying heavily on conscripts</a>, training standards among which are <a href=" target="_blank">very considerably lower </a>than those of South Korean ground units, North Korean special forces are expected to provide outstanding new capabilities should they indeed be deployed. They could accordingly provide a particularly formidable capability to infiltrate and hollow out Ukrainian and allied defences. </p><p ><img src=" title="American Forward Observations Group Personnel in Kursk"></p><p >With <a href=" target="_blank">Western forces</a> playing a central role in the ongoing war effort, including <a href=" target="_blank">contractor combat units</a>, <a href=" target="_blank">special forces advisors</a>, and <a href=" target="_blank">frontline combat units </a>comprised of active duty personnel such as British Royal Marines, a significant possibility remains that North Korean special forces will engage forces from NATO member states should they be deployed. Experience operating on very highly contested modern battlefields against Western and Western trained militaries could be highly valued and imparted to other North Korean units, which was potentially a key factor influencing Pyongyang’s decision to more actively join the war. The reported deployment of 1,500 special forces personnel represents less than one percent of North Korea’s total special forces, while the sharing of experience gained could significantly bolster overall strength.</p>