Audio captured by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and released on Friday shows Russian soldiers condemning North Korean soldiers, referring to them in disparaging ways as they raise concern about the latest development in the war.
According to the audio, Russian Soldiers can be heard referring to the North Korean soldiers, codenamed the “K Battalion,” as “the f—ing Chinese.”
The Russian troop who made that remark could also be heard in the audio describing one Korean soldier tasked to “meet people.”
“And he’s like standing there with his eyes out, like… f—,” the soldier says. “He came here and says what the f— to do with them.”
The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence reports that the audio was intercepted from an encrypted Russian transmission channel on the night of Oct. 23.
The intercepted audio revealed that North Korean troops would be moving to Russia’s Kursk region on Oct. 24. Kursk is where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion earlier this year, creating another wrinkle in the war that has been ongoing for more than two years.
Other pieces of information revealed in the audio included plans to have an interpreter and three senior officers for every 30 North Korean men. The soldiers in the audio can be heard shooting down the idea, saying they don’t understand the decision.
“The only thing I don’t understand is that there [should be] three senior officers for 30 people. Where do we get them? We’ll have to pull them out,” one Russian serviceman says.
“I’m f—ing telling you, there are 77 battalion commanders coming in tomorrow. There are commanders, deputy commanders, and so on,” a serviceman says in another piece of audio.
Ukraine first began reporting that North Korean troops were spotted in Russia’s Kursk region last Thursday. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he received a report on their deployment.
“According to intelligence, on October 27-28, Russia will deploy its first North Korean troops in combat zones. This is a clear step in Russia’s escalation that matters, unlike all the disinformation circulating in Kazan these days,” Zelensky said.
While at first the Kremlin had denied the deployment of North Korean soldiers, Putin did not deny their involvement on Thursday at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. North Korea did not confirm its involvement in the war but did say in state media that any deployment of troops to Russia would conform with international law.
“The actual involvement of North Korea in combat should be met not with a blind eye and confused comments, but with tangible pressure on both Moscow and Pyongyang to comply with the UN Charter and to punish escalation,” Zelensky said in his remarks.