We've be hearing for a few days now that North Korean troops are now preparing to enter the battlefield against Ukraine. CNN reports on some audio intercepts which suggest the Russian troops aren't thrilled with their presence so far.

The Russian soldiers talk disdainfully about the incoming North Korean soldiers, codenamed the “K Battalion,” at one point referring to them as “the f**king Chinese.”

In the same extract, a serviceman describes another who has been tasked to “meet people.”

“And he’s like standing there with his eyes out, like… f**k,” the soldier says. “He came here and says what the f**k to do with them.”

Another concern seems to be who will command them, especially given that none of these troops speak Russian.

The intercepts also reveal plans to have one interpreter and three senior officers for every 30 North Korean men, which the Russian soldiers are heard in the audio condemning.

“The only thing I don’t understand is that there [should be] three senior officers for 30 people. Where do we get them? We’ll have to pull them out,” one Russian serviceman says.

So what happens if the translator is hit? Apparently that whole unit is reduced to sign language. There's also a story floating around suggesting lack of leadership has already been a serious problem.

The Suspiline news outlet, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources, reported that 18 North Korean soldiers fled their positions somewhere on the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia, just 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the state border with Ukraine.

The source said the reason for them absenting themselves is not known but it said Russian forces were currently hunting them while the commanders in the area were trying to cover up the incident and to hide it from higher command.

I've seen different comments on this. Some say the soldiers had been left alone with no food for days and wandered off to find something to eat. Others claimed maybe they'd seen enough of the Russian Army to want to head home. Whatever the case, this doesn't seem to be off to a great start.

There's also a video circulating which allegedly was put out by the Ukrainians offering safety and regular meals to defectors. Given where these soldiers came from, that might be a compelling offer to a lot of them. Why fight and possibly die only to be returned to a land of starving people if you could just defect? Presumably some of these soldiers have families back home that they care about but probably not all of them. Anyway, we may find at fairly soon how they perform. They were supposedly going to start moving into position in Kursk this week.