North Korea has reportedly begun sending troops to support Russia in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The development has sparked widespread alarm in Seoul, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calling for an urgent security meeting and warning of a “grave security threat.”
The allegation follows recent claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who stated that intelligence reports indicated as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers could soon join Russian forces. The NIS corroborated this, stating that 1,500 North Korean troops have already arrived in Russia, with the total number expected to climb to 12,000.
This move further intensifies concerns over the deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has recently strengthened his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even marking Putin’s birthday with a personal message referring to him as his “closest comrade.”
The NIS also confirmed that North Korea has been supplying Russia with large quantities of ammunition to support its military campaign in Ukraine. According to the agency, Pyongyang has sent 13,000 shipping containers filled with weapons such as shells, missiles, and anti-armor rockets to Russia since August. It is estimated that this shipment includes up to eight million 122-mm and 152-mm shells.
Evidence of these transfers was bolstered by the discovery of a North Korean missile in Ukraine’s Poltava region, which raised further concerns about Pyongyang’s involvement in the war. South Korea’s spy agency has released aerial images showing hundreds of North Korean troops gathering at Russian military bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, and Khabarovsk, as well as photos of Russian ships reportedly transporting North Korean soldiers from the port of Chongjin in North Korea.
In response to these developments, President Yoon has called on the international community to take swift and decisive action. “The international community must respond with all available means,” Yoon said during the high-level security meeting on Friday, which included key officials from South Korea’s National Security Office, the Ministry of National Defence, and the NIS.
Yoon’s office later issued a statement emphasising that the situation could not be ignored, pledging that South Korea would work closely with other nations to address the growing security threat posed by North Korea’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
While North Korea’s deployment of soldiers to Russia may offer some relief to Moscow’s beleaguered forces, military analysts have questioned how effective these troops will be in combat. North Korean soldiers lack recent battlefield experience, and the language barrier between them and their Russian counterparts could hinder their integration into frontline operations.
Valeriy Ryabykh, a Ukrainian military expert and editor of Defence Express, suggested that these troops may be assigned non-combat roles, such as guarding the Russia-Ukraine border, which would allow Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere.
“I would rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front line,” Ryabykh said.
North Korea’s military alliance with Russia comes just days after Putin introduced a bill to ratify a military pact with Pyongyang. The agreement, forged between Putin and Kim earlier this year, pledges that both countries will assist one another in the event of “aggression” against either nation.
The escalating involvement of North Korean forces in Ukraine is likely to exacerbate tensions in the region and provoke further international condemnation of both Pyongyang and Moscow. As the situation develops, global security experts will be closely monitoring the extent of North Korea’s contributions to Russia’s war effort and the potential ramifications for the conflict in Ukraine.
In the meantime, South Korea’s intelligence agency continues to gather evidence of North Korean involvement, underscoring the need for coordinated international action to address the mounting security threats posed by this emerging alliance.
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