On Thursday, April 20, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to send troops and armored vehicles to the border with North Korea. Its length is small - about 20 kilometers, but three trains with military personnel, tanks and armored personnel carriers have already been sent there. In addition, a helicopter unit was suddenly transferred there.

Residents of the Primorsky Territory saw with their own eyes the trains with military equipment. The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Alexander Gordeev, did not deny the movement of troops to the brink. True, he did not explain the reasons, only emphasized that this is a common thing after large-scale exercises. And these took place the other day in Transbaikalia.

Expert Stanislav Sinitsyn, whom the British newspaper approached for comments The Daily Mail believes that the redeployment is directly related to the worsening situation on the Korean Peninsula. He called the sending of troops to the border with the DPRK "preventative, but necessary measure" The expert emphasized that China has already resorted to the same actions, sending at least 150 thousand soldiers and officers to its southern border.

If the situation worsens and it comes to the point that the United States launches a missile attack on North Korea, then we should expect a mass exodus of the population from the DPRK to its neighboring countries.

Moscow takes seriously the threat of the United States using force against North Korea. This was recently stated by political scientist Konstantin Asmolov, an employee of the Institute Far East Russian Academy Sci. He recalled that US President Donald Trump ordered a squadron led by a nuclear aircraft carrier to be sent to the Korean Peninsula. Washington has already launched a missile attack on Bashar al-Assad's airbase in Syria. And now it may well fire missiles at the supposed nuclear facilities Pyongyang. And Vladivostok is located only 150 kilometers from the border with the DPRK. " Nuclear cloud it will come to Russian city in just two hours,” Asmolov said.

Apparently, fears that the United States could launch a missile attack on North Korea forced Russia on April 19 to block the adoption of a resolution on the DPRK at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Moscow demanded that words about “political dialogue” with the DPRK be added to the draft resolution, as well as the remark about the international community’s determination to take “further serious measures” be removed.

Media: Russia is massing troops to the border with North Korea (video)

© Photo from the website of the Ministry of Defense.rf

Russia began strengthening the 17-kilometer border with North Korea, fearing that the United States would strike the DPRK and a stream of refugees would pour into Russian territory. The Daily Mail writes about this (translation by Newsru.co.il).

A video has also appeared on the Internet in which three trains loaded with military equipment are heading towards the Primorsky Territory through Khabarovsk. Military helicopters and armored vehicle maneuvers also arrive there. The press service of the Eastern Military District (EMD) called the movement of equipment a transfer to the regions control checks after winter period training and back. However, experts associate the increased presence of the army on the border with the DPRK with a possible Korean-American conflict.

“This is a common practice: when neighbors fight, our country strengthens its borders. This has always been the case and, I think, this is still happening today,” emphasized one of the military experts who wished not to disclose their names, as quoted by PrimaMedia news agency.

“They bring artillery systems to the border, which either support and accompany the infantry on the offensive, or meet the aggressor with heavy fire,” notes another expert. “Since the movement of other military units is not visible, it remains, most likely, as an option, to use these artillery systems to prevent massive impact from the outside. In case of a land invasion, if the North Koreans flee towards the border with Russia,” the former serviceman suggests.

According to him, such troop transfers, as a rule, take place strictly by order of the military leadership top level Therefore, the movement of military equipment indicates that the leadership of our country is monitoring the situation and taking appropriate measures.

“If the United States launches missiles at North Korean nuclear facilities, the radioactive cloud will reach Vladivostok within two hours,” warned Konstantin Asmolov, an employee of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, recalling that the city is located less than 150 km from the North Korean border.

Meanwhile, military expert Alexey Sukonkin has a different point of view. In an interview with the Deita.Ru agency, he said that there is nothing extraordinary in the fact that military equipment is being moved by rail, No. Commenting on the video that appeared online, he noted that, “firstly, it is not clear where and when it was filmed, and where the train is moving.”

"Secondly, Combat vehicles on platforms is combat vehicles short-range anti-aircraft missile system for military air defense. Live-fire exercises using such equipment cannot be carried out at any training ground, but only at a specialized one, where safety is ensured when launching anti-aircraft missiles. In the Eastern Military District, such a training ground is the Telemba training ground in Buryatia. Therefore, it is not surprising that such equipment periodically moves around railway from permanent deployment points to the training ground and back,” the expert concluded.

Previously, China sent to southern border 150 thousand people. US President Donald Trump, in turn, said that the Chinese authorities agreed to cooperate with the White House to resolve the North Korea problem. At the same time, Russia blocked a US-initiated UN Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang's latest missile tests and demanding a ban on North Korea's further nuclear experiments.

The Chinese authorities are transferring 150 thousand troops, as well as military equipment to the border with North Korea. Thus, Beijing is demonstrating its readiness to launch an operation against Pyongyang, which has ceased to demonstrate loyalty to its perhaps the only powerful protector.

Foreign news agencies report that the Chinese army is redeploying closer to the border with the DPRK. About 150 thousand soldiers and armored vehicles will take part in the “humanitarian mission and assistance to the local population"It is possible that this “mission” should be understood as the participation of Chinese military personnel in a joint military operation against North Korea.

Food for such assumptions was the statement made by US President Donald Trump that the Americans would cope with the DPRK without the help of China. Western analysts concluded that such assistance could be one of the topics of negotiations between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

However, Russian experts We are confident that the Chinese authorities are setting different goals for themselves. “I would not say that the Chinese will act under an American contract. Most likely, the Korean issue will be resolved solely for the sake of Chinese interests by the People’s Liberation Army of China. That is, the Chinese can “intercept” North Korea from the United States. Goals In this case, the PRC and the United States have the same idea - the overthrow of the regime in North Korea,” believes military analyst Alexander Khramchikhin.

A military operation against North Korea has become a real choice for the United States, notes L!fe. The Pentagon has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Korean shores. Washington is considering an attack on the regime of Kim Jong-un due to the threat of nuclear weapons North Korea against its neighbors on the peninsula. The DPRK authorities previously announced another nuclear weapons test. They are due to take place in April.

Japanese government officials unofficially reported that Washington had notified them of the possibility of striking North Korea. The State Department said that the strike would be carried out if Beijing, as the main economic partner and Pyongyang’s military ally will not increase pressure on it and force it to curtail its nuclear missile program. In this regard, Tokyo is expressing concern that Japan and South Korea may become targets of retaliatory strikes from the North Koreans.

Political scientist Andrei Manoilo highly assesses the likelihood of a full-scale attack on North Korea. The United States, in his opinion, does not risk anything. “North Korean ballistic missiles will not reach the territory of the United States. Hence the determination and readiness to strike. There is no risk for the United States itself,” the expert said.

The threat of a new beginning Korean War increased against the backdrop of the aggravation of the situation in the region, as well as as a result of the use of force American troops against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. By launching a missile attack on a Syrian government air base, Trump demonstrated his willingness to prove his case by force of arms. If he dared to strike at the Syrians, thereby straining relations with Moscow to the limit, then most likely his threats against Pyongyang will also not turn out to be empty words.

Unlike the head of Bely, at home the Chinese authorities have not yet directly declared their readiness to strike the DPRK. For now, at the public level, Beijing intends to influence the North Koreans in other ways. Thus, according to the Chinese publication Global Times, China may impose sanctions against North Korea. The suspension of supplies of fuel and lubricants and a number of other goods, as well as the deportation of North Korean citizens working in China, are considered as restrictive measures. However, given the massive redeployment of Chinese troops, it cannot be ruled out that this will not be the end of the matter.

Reports on the creation of special tactical forces of the Korean people's army(KPA) appeared in the press of South and North Korea after the grand military parade that took place on April 15 in Pyongyang.

In particular, the central newspaper of the DPRK "Nodong Sinmun" wrote that on April 15, soldiers of the "naval, air and air defense, strategic and special tactical forces of the Korean People's Army" marched through Kim Il Sung Square.

The Yonhap agency believes that Pyongyang showed the public representatives of a new type of armed forces - special tactical troops, the number of which can correspond to ground forces, Navy, Air Force and Missile Forces.

North Korean commandos marched wearing sunglasses and wearing night vision goggles on their helmets. In their hands they were holding new rifle grenade launchers, which are probably one of the modifications of the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Exchange of threats

This year, the parade in honor of the birthday of Eternal President Kim Il Sung received enormous media attention. In mid-April, the head of the White House, Donald Trump, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged belligerent statements about their readiness to enter into armed conflict.

On April 17, US Vice President Mike Pence visited the demilitarized zone on the Korean Peninsula (the actual border of the two states). According to him, the new American administration does not intend to follow the policy of “strategic patience” towards Pyongyang. Following Trump, Pence repeated that Washington is considering all options for resolving the Korean crisis.

Acting South Korean President Prime Minister Hwang Kyo Ahn expressed solidarity with the Vice President of the United States.

• Reuters

“The Republic of Korea and the United States will take powerful punitive measures in the event of further provocations by the DPRK,” the head of government said.

On April 15, Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and the State Council of the DPRK, Choi Ryong-hye, promised to punish potential opponents: “With our nuclear weapons of justice, we will destroy the nuclear weapons of the United States. If the United States dares to make any provocation, we will instantly deliver a devastating blow to nuclear war we will respond with our nuclear strike.”

The North Korean regime often rattles its sabers, especially during military parades. Often, replicas of promising models of military equipment are shown to the public. Experts interviewed by RT do not rule out that, given the intensity of passions, Pyongyang could have launched disinformation through the media, reporting the creation of special tactical troops as a branch of the armed forces.

A pointless measure

Allocation decision army special forces(if it really existed) in full view the aircraft looks very ridiculous. As a rule, the forces special purpose included in the structure of law enforcement agencies (police, internal troops, National Guard) and into the species structure armed forces (ground forces, Navy, Air Force).

trend recent years is the formation unified system management of army special forces - special operations forces (SSO). The threads of control are transferred to the subordination of the Chief of the General Staff. This innovation makes it possible to increase the efficiency of special forces, which is sometimes of key importance in the modern theater of combat operations.

It is believed that the first state to form special operations forces is the United States. The Pentagon claims that American Rangers can be deployed anywhere on the planet within 18 hours. The number of overseas MTRs is about 60 thousand people.

In Russia, special operations forces were created in 2013. Over the past four years, Russian special forces took part in the blockade of Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in Crimea and operations to liberate Aleppo and Palmyra. The number of SOF is classified, but is estimated by experts at 30 thousand people.

In all countries of the world, special forces carry out combat missions, where special combat training. For example, this is carrying out sabotage behind enemy lines, eliminating gang groups, or individuals. The types of armed forces, on the contrary, perform strategic tasks - among them the defense of borders, conducting offensive, defensive operations etc.

Military observer for the newspaper Gazeta.Ru Mikhail Khodarenok considers the creation of special tactical forces as a branch of the DPRK Armed Forces pointless. In a conversation with RT, he said that a separate structure in the army always creates additional troubles.

Tactical troops, by definition, cannot be a branch of the armed forces. I cannot understand the logic of the North Korean command. It’s another matter if Pyongyang is thinking about how special forces can be structured. I mean the creation of special operations forces. This decision is justified.

Military expert Vladislav Shurygin shares a similar opinion. “Advanced countries have long created either special forces or special operations forces. These are larger associations that make it possible to carry out small wars rather than isolated, targeted strikes. Probably something similar was created in North Korea,” Shurygin told RT.

Senior Vice President of PIR Center, Reserve Lieutenant General Evgeny Buzhinsky, believes that the announcement of special forces a separate species- an inaccuracy made by journalists.

“Everything that was reported in the media is nonsense. All decent armies have special forces. The DPRK also has them, but due to their special functionality they cannot be a branch of the armed forces. We can only talk about creating special operations forces,” Buzhinsky emphasized in a conversation with RT.

Numerous and poorly armed

As noted by the media, the leadership of the North Korean special operations forces is carried out by the Light Infantry Control Bureau and the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. The strength of the DPRK MTR is approximately 90 thousand people.

• RIA News

According to the deputy director of the Institute of Military and Political Analysis, Alexander Khramchikhin, the special forces of the KPA ground forces include nine light infantry brigades, six sniper brigades, 17 reconnaissance battalions, and eight infantry battalions.

IN Airborne Forces structure there are three special forces brigades, two sniper brigades airborne brigades and one special forces parachute battalion. The special forces of the DPRK Navy include two sniper brigades.

As a rule, the number of army special forces is small. In the US Army the share personnel Special operations forces are estimated at 4.2%, in the Russian Armed Forces - at 3.8%. However, in the DPRK the situation is different. 90 thousand North Korean special forces are about 13% of the armed forces (700 thousand people, according to Global Firepower).

The desire to increase the number of special forces is typical of states with large, but bad armed army. In such countries, special forces are well-armed fighters who perform combined arms missions and conduct special operations simultaneously.

A striking example, which RT wrote about, are the Afghan armed forces. At the end of March 2017, the country's Ministry of Defense announced plans to increase the number of army special forces from 17 to 30 thousand people (from 8.5% to 15% of the armed forces). The specificity of the Afghan special forces is that special forces fighters participate in 70% offensive operations and are the leading force in the battles with the Taliban*.

It is likely that this logic applies to the 700,000-strong North Korean army, which is equipped mostly with outdated weapons. Reliable information there is little about the KPA, but judging by photographs and videos, the equipment of the DPRK special forces is not much different from appearance infantryman.

Mikhail Khodarenok believes that the weapons of North Korean special forces correspond to models from the 60s and 70s of the last century. At the same time, potential opponents of the DPRK special tactical troops are high-tech armed forces South Korea and the USA.

The founder of the Military Russia portal, Dmitry Kornev, is confident that, despite the technological lag, the DPRK MTR has several important advantages.

“Firstly, North Korean special forces will be with high probability fight on your own territory. Secondly, the DPRK special forces are distinguished by a high level physical training, iron discipline and fanatical devotion to command. A disadvantage is the lack of real combat experience,” Kornev concluded.

* The Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

“The truck driver saw columns of military equipment, they are traveling towards Vladivostok towards the border with Korea,” the man says in the audio recording.

“I saw jeeps with military license plates - a column with flashing lights, some generals, apparently they drove off. From Khabarovsk towards Vladivostok, missile launchers, armored personnel carriers, and Grads are traveling, and all this is accompanied by helicopters. I talked to the soldiers, they say there’s some kind of twist in North Korea, they’re pulling us closer there,” he says male voice in another audio recording.

Meanwhile, PrimaMedia news agency has obtained a video recording of the passage of a train of military equipment moving through Khabarovsk towards Primorye. Officially, the press service of the Eastern Military District calls the movement of equipment to the areas of control checks after the winter training period and back.

“I can’t speak specifically for each train, but today the equipment, in principle, is moving around the regions in connection with scheduled control checks based on the results of the winter training period. Military units travel to unfamiliar training grounds and practice tasks in new areas. We recently completed such a check in the Trans-Baikal Territory. “With a high probability, the train will return the equipment to its permanent deployment point,” said Alexander Gordeev, head of the press service of the Eastern Military District.

Meanwhile, according to PrimaMedia, retired military officers and experts are seriously discussing the possible strengthening of the army presence on the border with the DPRK in connection with a possible Korean-American conflict.

“This is a common practice: when neighbors fight, our country strengthens its borders. This has always been the case, and I think it is still the case today. Although I should note that this is just my opinion. I don’t yet know exactly how it really is,” one of the experts emphasized.

Retired officer Stanislav Sinitsyn notes that drawing forces to the borders is a preventive necessity in this situation.

“In the last week, the movement of military equipment has been observed in the Primorsky Territory various types delivery to southern regions the edges. Many associate this with the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Judging by the footage, they are carrying artillery systems that either support and accompany the infantry on the offensive, or meet the aggressor with heavy fire. Since the movement of other military units is not visible, it remains, most likely, as an option to use these artillery systems to prevent massive impact from the outside. In case of a land invasion, if the North Koreans flee towards the border with Russia,” notes the former soldier.

According to him, repeated actions North Korea related to the launch of missiles and the declaration of the presence of nuclear weapons cannot remain without the closest attention of all nearby countries, including Russia. Therefore, being prepared for military surprises is one of the main tasks armed forces of any country.

“Such troop transfers, as a rule, take place strictly according to the orders of the highest-level military leadership, so the movement of military equipment indicates that the leadership of our country is monitoring the situation and taking appropriate measures. Moreover, transported equipment can often be used on its own to a limited extent, so talking about “some kind of war” is inappropriate. This is a preventative need in this situation.

The bitter experience of 1941 showed the extent to which advance preparation was underestimated. In practice, when an aggravation of the situation occurs, especially one initiated by the military component, the armed forces of all neighboring countries, of course, increase their vigilance, and our country is no exception. This is not the first time that North Korea has violated the peace in the region, so this situation deserves attention,” the interlocutor concluded.