North Korean Forces Deployed Alongside Russian Troops in Ukraine: Report (X image @MahalaxmiRaman)
Reportedly, the North Korean military engineers have been deployed to aid Russia in targeting Ukraine with ballistic missiles. The report also suggests that North Koreans operating in occupied areas of Ukraine have already been killed. The report cited officials in Kyiv and Seoul.
It is said that there are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in teams that “support launcher systems for KN-23 missiles”. As per the report, North Korea’s ammunition shipments were vital in allowing Russian forces to advance in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine this summer. However, it appears that the agreement was beyond supplying materials.
Last year, Kim Jong-un, the North Korea’s leader, went to Russia for a summit with Valdimir Putin. The West claimed that the two leaders bolstered their deepening ties with secret arms deal during the meeting.
While reports suggest that North Korean were among the dead after Ukrainian missile strike om Russian-occupied region near Donetsk last week, it was not clear if they were military engineers or other forces.
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Though foreigners have earlier fought as mercenaries for Russia, it would be the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform to support Moscow’s war, if North Korea had sent troops in real.
South Korea’s Defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told MPs in Seoul this week that it was “highly likely” that North Korean officers had been deployed to fight alongside Russians, and several had died in the attack, said The Guardian. The minister did not provide any further details on the matter.
In a post on Telegram, Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said that some North Koreans had been killed in Russia. Ukrainian military on Wednesday said they had destroyed North Korean ammunition in a strike on a depot in the Bryansk region, 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.
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By joining the war on Ukraine, North Korea gains a chance to test weapons, gain combat experience for its troops and bolster its standing with a powerful international ally.
“For North Korea, which has supplied Russia with many shells and missiles, it’s crucial to learn how to handle different weapons and gain real-world combat experience… This might even be a driving factor behind sending North Korean soldiers – to provide them with diverse experiences and wartime training”, Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, told the AFP news agency.
Russia, and North Korea made no comments on the issue. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied weapons sales even as they have publicly celebrated deepening ties in recent months.
