N. Korean units are fighting in Syria?

Thanks to Spock for the links!

via Diplomat

Two North Korean militia units are fighting alongside Syrian government forces a representative of a Syrian opposition delegation claimed in Geneva this week, according to TASS.
Asaad al-Zoubi, a leading figure in the so-called High Negotiations Committee delegation, the Saudi-backed main opposition bloc, revealed the information amidst ongoing U.N.-sponsored peace talks on Syria in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Two North Korean units are there, which are Chalma-1 and Chalma-7,” al Zoubi said. According to the opposition, a former colonel in the Syrian Arab Army who now heads the Free Syrian Army in the south of the country, the North Korean fighters are “fatally dangerous.”
Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, there have been repeated rumors of North Korean military involvement including the transfer of arms and the presence of military advisers in the country.
However, as of now, there is no hard evidence that North Korean troops are on the ground fighting alongside the pro-Assad forces or that Pyongyang is currently providing material support to the Syrian government.
Nevertheless, North Korean involvement is not impossible and there is a long history to Syrian-North Korean military cooperation as the U.S.-Korea Institute points out in an analysis.

This fits.

If the N. Koreans want to have a role on the world stage then teaming with Iran (long time allies) and Russia (apparently the new check to US dominance) seems like a no brainer.

More on this here and here.

I wonder what the public reaction will be to something I've been saying for awhile now.  This little ISIS adventure has the hallmarks of being the opening stages of something MUCH bigger.

We should have teamed with Russia, left Assad in place and destroyed ISIS (only 30K soldiers...in the freaking open desert) long ago.  The longer this is allowed to play, the more chances for it to spiral out of control.