North Korea could deploy 100,000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow continues to deepen, according to people familiar with the assessment by some of the 20 nations.
The analysis is one of several on the evolution of cooperation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions. They stressed that such a move was not immediate and that military assistance of this scale – if it were to happen – would happen in batches with troops rotating over time, rather than in a single deployment.
Ukraine’s ambassador to South Korea made a similar assessment earlier this month. Dmytro Ponomarenko said a conversation With VOA Kyiv hoped to rotate 15,000 North Korean soldiers to fight in Russia’s Kursk region – and possibly in the occupied areas of eastern Ukraine – within a few months.
Spokesmen for South Korea’s Defense Ministry and the Presidential Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Kim’s decision to send North Korean troops to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine has aggravated Kiev’s allies have warned that it risks escalating into Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. They believe that deepening cooperation between Putin and Kim could also affect the security balance in the Indo-Pacific region, where competition between China and the US is growing.
The issue will be raised by several allies at the G-20 Summit in Brazil this week, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of Bloomberg. notify. Scholz told Putin on Friday in the rare phone call That the deployment of North Korean troops was a “serious escalation” of the war against Ukraine.
Scholz will press the Chinese leader at their meeting in Rio on Tuesday to use his influence over Russia and North Korea to avoid an escalation of the war, according to German officials.
North Korea’s expansion shows the war is becoming global and Scholz and Xi will have to discuss this new dimension of the conflict, the officials said.
The allies also raised concerns at the APEC meeting in Lima, Peru, this past week, another person said.
Xi has been the biggest benefactor of Putin and Kim in recent years, and sees both leaders as partners in fighting the US-led world order. But his government has been silent publicly on sending North Korean troops to Russia, a sign that the Chinese president may be happy with the deal.
The Kim-Putin partnership risks adding economic pressure to China as it grapples with Xi’s potential disruption. rates When US President-elect Donald Trump threatened returning to the White House It also undermines Beijing’s argument that the US should not have a military alliance in the Indo-Pacific region.
China does not allow “conflict and confusion to happen on the Korean Peninsula” and will not “stand still when its strategic security and core interests are under threat,” Xi told US President Joe Biden in talks on Saturday. the corners Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.
North Korea has sent over 10,000 troops so far to fight Together with Putin’s army in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have occupied part of the border territory. surprise raid in August In return, Russia is providing money and helping North Korea increase its capabilities.
South Korea has said there is a “high chance” North Korea will look for Advanced technology transfers from Russia – including technology related to tactical nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and ballistic missile submarines.
In addition to the manpower, North Korea has also sent millions of artillery munitions and other weapons to Russia. The Financial Times reported this week, citing Ukrainian intelligence, that Pyongyang has also supplied Moscow with long-range missile and artillery systems.
Ukraine has been urging its allies for months to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike military targets inside Russia as a countermeasure to Moscow’s attacks, among other things. energy infrastructure in the country
