Thousands of North Korean soldiers have entered Russian territory in recent weeks to help Vladimir Putin pursue his plan to conquer Ukraine. According to information gathered by the United States, NATO and South Korean intelligence elite soldiers left North Korean territory in early October to go to Vladivostok, before being joined by 3,000 North Koreans. -Koreans, seen training in some military bases in the Russian Far East and wearing Russian uniforms. 12,000 other men are expected to lend them a hand. Explanations.
Russian deputies voted this Thursday, October 24, to ratify a treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang providing in particular for “immediate military aid” in the event of armed aggression from third countries. “The first units of the North Korean army, which were trained at training grounds in eastern Russia, have already arrived in the combat zone” between Ukraine and Russia, they said. indicated the Ukrainian military intelligence services in a press release. On Wednesday, their presence was detected in the Kursk region. Ukraine called on Wednesday for the surrender of North Korean fighters already on its territory.
“Mercenary soldiers”
The signing of this treaty can be explained by the lack of personnel on the front from which Russia suffers. North Koreans will thus take charge of functions behind the front, in order to free Russian soldiers, until now in charge of the logistics of the war. For Moscow, this deployment could also constitute a test, after more than two and a half years of war, in order to “gauge the reaction of NATO or the international community” to the involvement of new actors, believes Lee Dong-gyu , researcher at the Asan Institute, based in Seoul.
The reasons for the presence of these soldiers on Russian territory could also be financial: each soldier will be paid around 2,000 dollars (around 1,800 euros) per month, the equivalent of a year’s salary in North Korea. Russia is currently recruiting interpreters to train these “mercenary soldiers” in the handling of drones and other high-tech equipment used to wage war in Ukraine, according to information from South Korean intelligence services.
Escalation of conflict
This sending of troops could have significant geopolitical consequences: while relations between Pyongyang and Seoul are at their lowest point in decades, the South Korean authorities reacted forcefully and warned that they would not remain “idly” in the face of to this sending of troops. South Korea, which is a major arms exporter, traditionally follows a policy of not supplying weapons to active conflict zones. If North Korea were to engage head-on in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the country could decide to change its doctrine: “We could review this issue with more flexibility depending on the actions of the North Korean forces,” declared President Yoon Suk Yeol. South Korea could thus, depending on events, commit to supporting Ukraine militarily, for example with defensive weapons.
The United States said the possibility of soldiers from North Korea engaging in Ukraine was a “very worrying possibility.” If these soldiers are indeed planning to fight on the Ukrainian front, then they could become “legitimate military targets”. For its part, North Korea denied providing Russia with forces for its offensive in Ukraine, a representative of Pyongyang at the UN and cited an “unfounded rumor”.