For the first time, the United States has affirmed its awareness of North Korean military presence in Russia. The defence secretary of the United States, Lloyd Austin, expressed serious concern about the possible involvement of the North Korean military in Ukraine alongside Russia. He stated, while in Rome, that the exact role they’ll be playing remains unknown.
Lloyd Austin used North Korea’s official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), whilst discussing evidence of the country’s military personnel present in Russia. Simultaneously, in Seoul, politicians indicated that North Korea has dispatched 3,000 of their soldiers to Russia, with the anticipation of additional deployments.
The South Korean politicians have also revealed that Pyongyang had committed to supplying a total of approximately 10,000 troops, a process expected to be completed within the year. Notably, this figure is double the initial estimation of North Korean soldiers already stationed in Russia.
According to Park Sun-won, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, evidence of troop training within North Korea was discovered in September and October. Those troops are now assumed to be dispersed across various Russian training centres, adapting to a new environment.
Following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine is currently entangled in a conflict with heavy casualties being sustained on both sides. The United States defence secretary suggests that the alleged North Korean deployment may further reveal Russia’s difficulty in maintaining its military manpower.
Both the Kremlin and North Korea’s representative to the United Nations dismissed claims of North Korean troop deployment as unfounded and false stories.
Despite both Moscow and Pyongyang denying transfers of weaponry, they have committed to strengthening military relations and agreed to a mutual defence treaty in a June summit. According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the North has reportedly dispatched approximately 1,500 specialised military personnel to Russia via sea, with expectations of their deployment into the Ukrainian warfare following a training and acclimatisation phase.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has openly accused Pyongyang of organising to send an additional 10,000 troops to Russia, and has sought a response from his allies against evidence of North Korean involvement in Russia’s conflict. Additionally, assertions have been made by Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the South Korean committee, that Pyongyang is attempting to suppress news of troop deployment. Mr Lee has also stated that North Korean authorities are moving and confining troop families in order to manage them effectively and suppress rumours.
Mr Lee indicated that the spy agency confirmed Russia’s recruitment of a significant number of translators for the North Korean soldiers, who are also being trained in using modern military equipment including drones. Russian trainers believe that while the North Korean military displays high physical prowess and morale, their understanding of contemporary warfare techniques is lacking.
US officials, who wished to remain unnamed, suggest that Russia’s casualties in the Ukrainian conflict amount to over 600,000 troops killed or injured. Mr Austin proposed that the alleged North Korean deployment suggests a deficit of Russian manpower.
Both threats and appeals have been raised to evaluate and contain the potential escalation of the situation. On Tuesday, South Korea’s presidential office demanded an immediate retreat of North Korean troops from Russia, issuing a warning that it might consider providing lethal weapons to Ukraine if the military ties between North Korea and Russia are deemed too extensive. Lastly, Germany has summoned North Korea’s charge d’affaires on Wednesday due to worries regarding the troop deployment. If the reports of active North Korean soldiers in Ukraine supporting Russia’s aggressive war-strategies are accurate, this would violate international law, according to the German foreign ministry.
The National Intelligence Service of South Korea announced last week that it has been collaborating with Ukrainian intelligence. Through the use of facial recognition technology, they identified North Korean officers situated in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, aiding Russian forces by firing North Korean missiles, according to a report by Reuters.
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