The DPRK has already sent 1,500 special forces to Russia for the war against Ukraine, the National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS) said.

"In early August, NIS discovered that Kim Jong-sik, the first deputy director of the Ministry of Military Industry, a key figure in North Korea's missile development, visited the North Korean KN-23 missile test site near the Russian-Ukrainian front several times with dozens of North Korean military officers and gave instructions on the spot," the NIS press service said in a statement on its website on Friday.

South Korean intelligence reportedly recorded the transportation of DPRK soldiers on October 8-13. From the Chongjin, Hamhun and Musudan regions, they were sent by ship to Vladivostok. The soldiers are currently being trained at military bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk, and will then be sent to the front in Ukraine.

The report notes that Russia will try to hide the DPRK's participation in the war – the North Korean military was given Russian uniforms and weapons, as well as fake IDs of residents of Yakutia and Buryatia. Most likely, the DPRK will soon send another batch of its troops to Russia.

The report cites an unnamed NIS representative: "The suspicion of 'direct military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,' which was raised by foreign media, has been officially confirmed." He then added: "We will continue to monitor and confirm the course of Russian-North Korean military cooperation through close intelligence cooperation with our allies."