SEOUL, 18th October 2024
To support Moscow in the war against Ukraine, North Korea decided to send troops besides already supplying Russia with ammunition.
An unscheduled security meeting had been called by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, which was attended by key intelligence, military and national security service officials to discuss North Korean troop’s involvement in Russia’s war of aggression.
“[The participants] decided not to ignore the situations and to jointly respond to it with the international community using all available means.” Yoon’s office said, without elaborating on what actions it might take.
From the initial stages, South Korea, together with its allies, has been tracking North Korea’s dispatch of soldiers to eastern Russia to fight in Ukraine.
According to the South Korean spy agency NIS (National Intelligence service) about 1.500 special forces troops have already been shipped to Russia for training. Since August last year, eight million rounds of munitions, such as artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets were supplied to Russia as well, it said.
„The direct military cooperation between Russia and North Korea that has been reported by Foreign media has now been officially confirmed.”, the spy agency said in a statement, as Soul warned of a “grave security threat”.
However, some military experts express their concerns regarding Russia’s incorporation of North Korean troops into their frontlines. They believe that apart from the language barrier, the army will have difficulties because it lacks recent experience of combat operations.
“I would rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front line.”, said Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defense Express.
The White House National Security Council could not confirm reports that North Korean troops are involved in the Ukraine war, though, if true, “this would mark a dangerous development in Russia’s war against Ukraine. This would be an “extreme escalation of the conflict in Ukraine”, a spokesperson said.