Western officials estimate up to 10,000 North Korean troops could be joining Russia’s armed forces in an apparent plan to contain and push back a Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk. Kim Won Jin/AFP via Getty Images

Border data shows North Korean ‘students’ (not troops) are loving Russia – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

As Moscow continues to dodge the question on whether it has recruited North Korean troops to fight against Ukraine, journalists have noted a mysterious rise in the number of Pyongyang students traveling to Russia.

Using data from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) border service, the independent outlet Mediazona on Friday spotted that 3,765 North Korean citizens had crossed into the country from July to September for the purpose of “study.”

That number is higher than the entirety of the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when 3,200 students in total were registered as entering Russia.