Is Kim’s Right-Hand Man Headed to War? NIS Says Troop Deployment Could Be Imminent

On Monday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced that it had received intelligence indicating that Kim Young Bok, a close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and deputy chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, may be relocated to the front lines of the Ukraine conflict. The NIS is currently working to confirm this information.

The NIS conveyed these updates during a closed-door briefing to the Intelligence Committee at its headquarters in Naegok-dong, Seoul. Committee representatives from both major South Korean political parties, Lee Sung Kwon of the People Power Party and Park Sun Won of the Democratic Party, later provided a summary.

NIS Director Cho Tae Yong noted that North Korea’s troop deployment to Kursk might be imminent. He reported that most deployed soldiers are in their early 20s, with some as young as their late teens. He also noted that North Korea remains cautious in assessing the number of troops deployed to strategic locations like Kursk.

He added, “We are cautioned in assessing how many troops North Korea has dispatched to Kursk and other significant battlefields. At this point, it’s challenging to specify the number of Storm Corps soldiers deployed to the front lines.”

Cho stated regarding the combat effectiveness of the North Korean troops, “In North Korea, military service begins at age 18. We estimate that the Storm Corps units in this deployment include some soldiers in their late teens, though most are in their early 20s, which may explain their youthful appearance.”

He continued, “We should assume that these deployed troops have undergone the combat training necessary for the Storm Corps. We must not underestimate their combat capabilities.”

However, he acknowledged that assessing their combat effectiveness is challenging due to their lack of war experience. Cho remarked, “Given the nature of modern warfare, the combat effectiveness of North Korean soldiers without modern combat experience remains uncertain.”

Regarding the scale of this deployment, he stated, “Based on multiple intelligence sources, we estimate the deployment to include approximately 10,900 personnel.”