Tue Oct 29 20:50:00 UTC 2024: ## Chaos and Confusion: Russia Struggles to Integrate North Korean Troops
**WASHINGTON** – Ukrainian intelligence has intercepted phone calls revealing a chaotic situation as Russia attempts to integrate North Korean troops into its military operations. The calls, intercepted from troops defending the Kursk region on Ukraine’s northern border, highlight logistical and communication breakdowns.
According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, Russian forces are struggling to manage the influx of North Korean soldiers, allocating one translator and three Russian personnel for every 30 North Koreans. This has resulted in significant language barriers, with soldiers expressing frustration at the lack of translators.
“We all work like translators now,” one soldier lamented on an intercepted call. Another soldier, exasperated by the situation, referred to the North Koreans with a crude term for Chinese.
The calls also reveal a shortage of commanders and weaponry. Russian soldiers expressed concern about having enough leaders to manage the new units, while voicing worry about the lack of weapons and ammunition, despite the war being in its 979th day.
One recorded conversation captured a Russian soldier’s outrage at a commander who ordered troops to provide Russian armored vehicles, already in short supply, to the North Korean troops. “I want to kill him today, yes, after the Koreans,” the soldier said.
Adding to the chaos, Russian police stopped a truck carrying North Korean soldiers en route to Kursk on Sunday due to the driver’s lack of a combat order.
These revelations come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to strengthen ties and share intelligence. Zelenskyy stated that approximately 12,000 North Korean troops are expected to be deployed to Russian military bases.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s foreign minister arrived in eastern Russia and will travel to Moscow for her second visit within six weeks. The Pentagon reported that around 10,000 North Korean troops are now stationed at military posts in Russia’s eastern region and could be deployed to Kursk in the coming weeks.
“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
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