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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| North Korea troops fighting in Syrian civil war, delegate says |
| 2016-03-23 |
| [UPI] GENEVA, Switzerland, March 22 -- Two North Korean military units are fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syria conflict. Asaad Al-Zoubi, the head of the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee delegation, told Russian news agency TASS that North Koreans have committed troops to the civil war. According to Al-Zoubi, the two units are called Chalma-1 and Chalma-2. The Syrian delegate provided the information as he attended Syria peace talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva. Al-Zoubi added there are fighters from Iran and Afghanistan fighting on behalf of Assad. Russia's Sputnik International also confirmed the Syrian representative's statement on North Korean soldiers in the Middle East, and quoted Al-Zoubi as saying the "North Korean troops are fatally dangerous" during an explanation of the presence of foreign troops in the Syrian civil war. The civil war has continued for five years, and the opposition and the Assad regime are at odds regarding the details of a peace negotiation. But Pyongyang maintains friendly ties with the dictatorship in Damascus, and Russia has supported Assad's rule. North Korea's presence in the Middle East conflict is unprecedented, but the two countries have cultivated military ties for many years. North Korea has been a staunch ally of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, opposed by the Islamic State, and Pyongyang helped Syria build a nuclear facility destroyed by an Israeli air raid in 2007. Last September Syria dedicated a park to former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 IIRC during the Vietnam War the US MACV often said [boasted] that any area patrolled or secured by SOKOR forces were deemed as absolutely safe from the NVA-VC. We'll see iff Pudgy's Boyz will have the same reputation or effect. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2016-03-23 22:00 |
| #5 Because Pudgy can use the money. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2016-03-23 12:04 |
| #4 Sanctions lifted on Iran become the conduit for Nork financial and trade (and manpower) activity. We have top men working on it right now. Top men. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-03-23 09:54 |
| #3 Hands-on post grad strategy training AND cash back home. Prob pays better than construction or cooking and cleaning for the Americans. |
| Posted by: Wardoof 2016-03-23 09:09 |
| #2 Or Iranian: 150 billion is a lot of money. Well, if in Iranian hire, I hope Norks remember what happened the last time they were here. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-03-23 07:17 |
| #1 Russian outsourcing. Vlad's ‘Coalition of the Willing’ on Syria. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-03-23 05:23 |