North Korea has shipped 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s far east for training and will likely be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said.

Ukraine warned of a “huge” escalation risk on Saturday as hundreds of elite North Korean troops were predicted to enter the battlefield within days in support of Russia.

Earlier on Friday, South Korean media, citing the NIS, reported that North Korea has decided to dispatch a total of 12,000 troops formed into four brigades to Russia. North Korea has 1.2 million troops, one of the largest militaries in the world, but it lacks actual combat experience.