North Korea sends military pilots to Russia

North Korea has sent pilots to Russia to learn how to fly Russian combat aircraft.

Here's What We Know

The American edition of Newsweek, citing sources, reported that Russia could also use North Korean pilots in the war with Ukraine.

Earlier, a South Korean official said that in September, the DPRK sent pilots to Vladivostok before sending its ground troops in early October.

The newspaper's interlocutors also linked the arrival of North Korean pilots to possible training on new aircraft that Moscow is to supply to the DPRK.

"This may be the first time North Korean pilots have participated in combat since the Vietnam War," the newspaper said.

According to US intelligence, the DPRK itself has more than 900 combat aircraft. The most modern of them are Su-25 attack aircraft and MiG-29 fighters. The Russian army has also been actively using Su-25s in the war with Ukraine, but has already lost many of them during the full-scale invasion.

A U.S. intelligence report notes that due to a lack of fuel and concerns about the ageing of the aircraft, North Korean Air Force pilots receive only 15-25 hours of flying time per year. This makes them inadequately trained.

Source: Newsweek