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WATCH this endless line of North Korean mega-guns rumbling across Russia as Kim Jong-un ramps up his support for Putin.
This colossal train of heavy-duty artillery is Kim’s latest offering to Vlad, hours after it was revealed that more North Korean (DPRK) troops will be shipped to Russia to replace the dead.
North Korea has sent a new fleet of huge artillery guns across Russia, headed for the Kursk regionEast2West
AFP
Rex
The new footage shows a fleet of enormous M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery that will soon be pumping explosives towards the Ukrainian soldiers.
Neither Russia nor North Korea has publicly acknowledged the transfer of the weapons that can fire two rockets every five minutes to a range of up to 37 miles.
Kim seems content to keep pouring resources into the void after his troops suffered major losses in their first full week of front line action.
DPRK troops joined Putin’s hordes in attempting to claw back the Kursk region of Russia, which Ukraine nabbed during a surprise offensive in October.
Putin has said he “cannot and does not want to name a specific date” for when the Russians will push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk, but boasted that Zelensky is “throwing [his] best units there to be slaughtered”.
Since joining the front line, the North Koreans have hit the ground – but not running.
South Korean spies revealed at least 100 of Kim’s men were mowed down this week, and another 1000 were injured – a significant chunk of the 11,000 initially dispatched.
It is not clear how many more fighters Kim intends to send, but South Korean intelligence (NIS) reported he will personally inspect their training after the first troop wave was caught lacking.
The NIS attributes the high casualty rate to the fact that the North Koreans are fighting in “unfamiliar battlefields”.
They have very little experience of drone warfare, a key tactic of Ukraine, and so are being “consumed” like “canon fodder”.
The spy agency added that the Russian military had complained their North Korean comrades were a “burden” due to their “ignorance” of drones.
Video released earlier this week by the Ukrainian military shows drones decked out with Christmas toys including, reindeer and a Santa Clause, hunting down North Korean troops and picking them off with apparent ease.
A senior US military official said the DPRK troop’s injuries “would include everything from […] light wounds up to being KIA [killed in action],” and affect troops from lower-levels to “very near the top”.
He added: “These are not battle-hardened troops.
A video released by the Ukrainian military claims to show the bodies of scores of dead Russian and North Korean soldiers stacked together in the snow, within days of the DPRK taking to the front line.
President Zelensky said there was evidence that Russian troops had even been scorching the faces of slaughtered North Koreans in order to hide their losses.
Meanwhile, a leaked audio recording of a phone call between a Russian nurse and her husband, allegedly intercepted by Ukraine’s security services, suggests Russia’s hospitals are crammed with North Korean casualties.
Why is Kim helping Putin?
Patrick Harrington
Kim Jong-un is sending military aid to Russia after the two leaders signed an agreement committing to assist each other earlier this year.
They vowed their countries would support each other in the face of “aggression” against either one.
This pact was reached during Putin’s visit to the North Korean capital Pyongyang in June, his first since 2000.
Kim said the agreement took their relationship to “a new, high level of alliance”.
Both leaders feel they are in conflict with the West and recognise that they constitute a stronger force working together.
Putin has felt increasingly threatened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because Nato has given Ukraine increasing permission to use its heavy weapons.
Nato has also been expanding, with Finland and Sweden joining in 2022, leading to Putin feeling encircled and outnumbered.
He will feel that he needs to nurture all of his ally relationships in the increasingly tense global context.
The conversation was between a nurse in the capital, Moscow, and her husband who is fighting in Kharkiv.
The woman can be heard saying: “Yesterday, there was a train with about 100 people.
“Today, 120 others, making 200.
“How many more are there?
“God only knows.”
The woman complains that injured North Korean troops have flooded the hospitals, leaving Russians to be treated in worse conditions.
The frustrated nurse explains that the language barrier causes problems and Kim’s men don’t speak any Russian, and the medics are not allowed to use English – only a dodgy online translator.
East2West
Rex
English (US)