North Korean cannons designed to flatten Seoul head to front line in Ukraine
North Korea is preparing to send Russia more than 100 artillery systems – originally designed to flatten Seoul – to be used in its war against Ukraine.
The 170mm M1989 Koksan howitzers, among the longest-range artillery systems in the world, are known as 'juche cannons', and were built to pound the South Korean capital in the event of a conflict.
Kyrylo Budano, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, said that Pyongyang was gearing up to double the number of artillery systems it has sent to the border region of Kursk.
The fresh deliveries come amid reports that North Korean soldiers have been withdrawn from sections of the front line to rebuild and regroup, while more troops are expected to be deployed soon.
Lt Gen Budanov said that over the past three months, Kim Jong-un had already given Moscow at least 120 North Korean-made M1989 Koksans, as well as another 120 of its M1991 multiple-launch rocket systems.
Speaking to defence outlet The Warzone, he said Pyongyang was preparing to send another tranche of at least the same amount, with open source analysts suggesting some were already on route.
The M1989 Koksan is a 40-ton self-propelled gun that first appeared during a military parade in 1989. The term 'juche' is used in North Korean propaganda to describe its state ideology of freedom and self-reliance.
Using standard shells, the cannons can strike targets over 25 miles away. Gen Budanov said North Korean troops were training their Russian counterparts to use them and they had begun firing them in combat.
In late December, footage showed a train transporting a convoy of at least 10 M1989 Koksans to Russia, their 25ft-long barrels on full display, with little to no camouflage hiding them from enemy strikes.
By Jan 7, they appeared to have arrived as footage emerged of them on the battlefield in Kursk. In the video, a North Korean soldier called the artillery system a 'gift' from Kim to his soldiers abroad.
Credit: Telegram / @exilenova_plus
Pyongyang has deep reserves of artillery systems and ammunition that have been stockpiled largely to threaten and prepare for a conflict with its rival, South Korea.
North Korea deployed 11,000 soldiers to its ally Russia in late October to help Moscow expel Kyiv's troops from the Kursk border region after Ukraine's surprise incursion in August.
South Korea joint chiefs of staff said on Friday that the North was preparing for an additional dispatch of troops to Russia. US officials, speaking to The New York Times, said the fresh reinforcements could arrive within two months.
Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang – which signed a 'mutual military assistance' deal last June – have confirmed Kim Jong-un's participation in the war, despite two North Korean prisoners of war being captured by Kyiv.
On Monday, Ukrainian reports emerged that North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of the front in Kursk.
A Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesman confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Pyongyang's troops had retreated from some of their positions and are probably regrouping after suffering significant losses.
The statement came after a Ukrainian commander told Sky News that North Korean troops had, for now, withdrawn from the front line in the Russian border region.
The commander, who goes by his call sign 'Puls', said they were probably trying to learn lessons from their mistakes, tending to their wounded or waiting for reinforcements.
'I think they'll be back soon' he said, while also noting the high motivation among the foreign soldiers despite heavy losses.
Puls also described how North Korean soldiers were an easy target as they appeared to be unaware of the threats from drones and modern artillery and had been attacked on foot in large groups 'like in World War II'.
His claims echo those of Ukrainian commanders and analysts who say the troops have not been trained in modern warfare and are being used by their Russian allies as cannon fodder in 'human wave' attacks.
About 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 3,000 wounded while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, the BBC reported last week, citing unnamed Western officials.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
South Korea halts anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts near border
SEOUL, June 11 (UPI) -- South Korea suspended its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts across the border to North Korea, officials said Tuesday, in a bid to reduce tensions with Pyongyang under the administration of newly elected President Lee Jae-Myung. Halting the broadcasts is "a measure to fulfill the public pledge to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula," a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said in a text message to reporters. The move came roughly a year after Seoul resumed the broadcasts in response to a series of provocations by North Korea that included floating thousands of trash-filled balloons across the border. The broadcasts included news, K-pop music, and information about democracy and life in South Korea. The North responded at times by broadcasting bizarre noises such as metallic screeching and animal sounds, disturbing residents in areas near the DMZ. Lee ordered the suspensions, his office confirmed later on Tuesday. Spokeswoman Kang Yoo-jung said in a briefing that Lee "made this decision as a preemptive measure to ease tensions in a situation where there have been no recent major provocations by North Korea." "This is a measure to ease the military standoff between the South and the North and to open the way to restoring mutual trust." It was also meant to "alleviate the suffering of residents in border areas who have suffered due to North Korea's noise broadcasts," she said. Lee, who won a snap election on June 3 to replace impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol, campaigned on improving frayed inter-Korean relations. He vowed to suspend the loudspeaker broadcasts as well as prevent defector groups from floating balloons with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and USB drives containing South Korean media over the border. On Monday, the Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations called for a stop to the leaflet campaigns after an activist group sent balloons in early June. "We strongly request that the spreading of leaflets be stopped, as this could create tension in the situation on the Korean Peninsula and endanger the lives and safety of the people in the border areas," ministry spokesman Koo Byung-sam said at a press briefing. Koo said the ministry would work with agencies and related organizations to ensure compliance with existing regulations on leaflet distribution. The Unification Ministry will also "actively cooperate in discussing amendments to the National Assembly's Inter-Korean Relations Development Act," Koo said. Defectors and human rights activists have argued that the communications across the border provide a vital source of information about the outside world to North Korean citizens. The new government's stance is a departure from the Yoon administration, which took a hard line against North Korea and saw relations deteriorate amid a series of back-and-forth Cold War-style provocations in border areas. Lee has said he would continue to strengthen military cooperation with the United States but pledged to reopen communications with Seoul's recalcitrant neighbor. "We will prepare for North Korea's nuclear weapons and military provocations, while opening channels of communication with North Korea and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and cooperation," Lee said in a speech at his swearing-in ceremony. During his campaign, Lee also vowed to restore an inter-Korean military pact aimed at defusing military tensions and avoiding accidental conflicts along the border. It was signed during a period of detente in 2018 but scrapped by both countries last year.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine brings home bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in war with Russia
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in the war with Russia, the Kyiv officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Wednesday. In Moscow, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine for its part had returned 27 bodies of Russian soldiers. "As a result of the repatriation activities ..., the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders have been returned to Ukraine," Kyiv's prisoner exchange coordination committee said on the Telegram messaging app. It released photos from the scene showing personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at an undisclosed location, walking past several refrigerated trucks. Some trucks were marked with emblems of "On the Shield," a Ukrainian organisation involved in the retrieval and evacuation of military dead. Kyiv and Moscow reached agreement at their most recent round of talks last week on a large-scale exchange of corpses of war dead, though the deal was marred by wrangling over its implementation. On Sunday, Medinsky said Ukraine had postponed taking the first 1,212 bodies. Russian officials also said that refrigerated trucks loaded with corpses waited for five days at the border before Ukraine accepted them. Ukraine's coordination body said a deal had been reached on repatriating bodies but the date had not been finalised, and accused Russia of unilateral and uncoordinated actions. On June 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia wanted to transfer 6,000 bodies back to Ukraine, but that only about 15% of them had been identified. "We already had a moment once when they transferred bodies to us and were also transferring bodies of Russian dead soldiers," Zelenskiy said at a briefing. The 1,212 bodies will now be transferred to experts of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, law enforcement agencies and the Health Ministry who will try to ascertain their identities as soon as possible, the prisoner exchange coordination body said. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged dozens of prisoners of war under the age of 25, as well as severely wounded and ill prisoners on Tuesday, in emotional homecoming scenes, the first step in a series of planned swaps that could become the biggest of the war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion. Russia and Ukraine will exchange more seriously wounded and ill prisoners of war on Thursday, Medinsky said. Fighting has raged on meanwhile with Russia saying on Monday its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv saying Moscow had launched its largest drone attack of the war.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel says 108 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered Gaza
More than 100 truckloads of humanitarian aid, including flour and other food, have crossed into the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south, Israel's COGAT agency reported on Wednesday. The 108 trucks belonging to the UN and the international community had crossed over on Tuesday, the Israeli authority for Palestinian affairs said. The Israeli military would "continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip while making every effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization," COGAT said. Last month, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US organization backed by the governments of Israel and the United States, began delivering aid to Gaza, bypassing the UN and other international organizations. Israel has accused UN bodies of allowing Hamas to seize aid intended for the population. The GHF's distribution has been controversial. Palestinians attempting to collect food and other aid have been killed by gunfire at the distribution points. The non-profit organization says that it has so far distributed around 12 million meals in Gaza. Israeli authorities say that 350 aid transports have entered the coastal region over the past week. According to the UN, at least 500 to 600 truckloads are needed daily.
