North Korea is already supplying Russia with tens of thousands of 155MM artillery shells and other military supplies in exchange for Russian food and oil the impoverished nation desperately needs.
Now, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is sending his soldiers to fight side by side with Russians in Ukraine.
"As Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual treaty akin to a military alliance, the possibility of such a deployment is highly likely," South Korea's defense chief told the country's parliament, adding that more of Pyongyang's soldiers are likely to be deployed.
“The relations between Russia and North Korea are evolving to be almost as close as a military alliance,” he said. “As such, more North Korean troops could be deployed in the war, from how we look at it.”
Minister Kim says it's "highly likely" that six North Korean officers were blown up in a Ukrainian missile strike on Donetsk last week. "We assess that the occurrence of casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly likely, considering various circumstances," Kim said, adding that they expect North Korea to send more troops to Russia soon.
Russia and North Korea have deepened their ties following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, culminating in a defense pact signed between the two countries in June when President Vladimir Putin visited the Asian country for the first time in 25 years.
The pact, which represents a sign of the strongest partnership between the two since the Cold War, envisions mutual military assistance between Moscow and Pyongyang if either is attacked.
The move added to concerns in the West that North Korea is providing Moscow with munitions to wage its war in Ukraine in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers.
The "technology transfers" is what worries Washington. Just what is Putin giving Kim for all this assistance? Beyond food and oil, no one is certain. If Putin is giving an increasingly bellicose Kim advanced military technology, that spells trouble for Seoul, which is watching as North Korea makes more aggressive moves against the South.
Separately, North Korea announced Wednesday that it will “completely” cut off roads and railways from South Korea, state-run KCNA said. The move appears in line with Kim Jong Un’s stated desire to wipe out any remaining talk of reunification and to remove any references to that possibility from the North’s constitution.
A deployment of troops would further ramp up Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in June to provide immediate military assistance if one of them is attacked, signing a deal during Putin’s first visit to North Korea in 24 years. Kim then called the pact “the most powerful treaty” signed between the two countries and one that elevates their ties to an alliance.
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Both Koreas are ramping up the rhetoric, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol taking an increasingly hard line while alluding to reunifying the two Koreas. This is poison to Kim, who ordered all references to reunification taken out of the North's constitution.
Often, Kim is more bluff than he is a threat. But with his newfound friend in Moscow backing him, he may not feel he has to back down at all.
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