North Korean Fighter Pilots Could Join Russia in War Against Ukraine, Newsweek Reports

North Korea has reportedly sent fighter pilots to Russia, potentially to support the ongoing war in Ukraine. According to Newsweek, North Korean pilots may have been deployed to Vladivostok last month to operate Russian military aircraft.

Sources indicate that North Korean pilots might be undergoing training to fly Russian fighter jets, but it’s also possible that Russia, facing a shortage of pilots, sought assistance from North Korea.

If confirmed, this would mark the first time since the Vietnam War that North Korean combat pilots have been deployed abroad. North Korean pilots also participated in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, operating in Syria and Egypt.

Earlier reports indicated that Russia is forming a special battalion of approximately 3,000 North Korean citizens, designated as the “Buryat” battalion, to participate in combat operations against Ukraine.

However, recent information has emerged that 18 North Korean soldiers have fled from their positions near the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions, just 7 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The motives for their escape remain unclear, and the Russian military has initiated searches while attempting to keep this information from higher command.

On October 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has referenced intelligence reports indicating North Korea’s de facto involvement in the ongoing war, after reports have emerged indicating that more than 20 soldiers were killed near Donetsk due to a missile strike on October 3, including six North Korean officers.