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For the first time since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a direct involvement of a third country is being alleged. If reports are to be believed, North Korea has sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine, a claim yet to be ascertained.
Ukrainian officials released a video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers lining up to collect Russian military clothes and bags at an unknown location. However, the authenticity of the video couldn’t verified the footage independently.
While Russia has earlier denied using North Korean troops in its war with Ukraine, North Korea’s state media hasn’t commented on the matter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces.
Cooperation between North Korea and Russia has flourished over the past two years. The U.S., South Korea and their partners have accused North Korea of supplying conventional arms to Russia in return for economic and military assistance. In June, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked.
South Korea Summons Russian Ambassador
South Korea on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow and demanded an immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia.
South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But South Korea hasn’t directly provided arms to Kyiv, citing its longstanding policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflicts.
What South Korea Said?
South Korea’s spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia this month to support Moscow, as reported by AP. During a meeting with Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev, Vice South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun “condemned in the strongest terms” North Korea’s troop dispatch that he said poses “a grave security threat” to South Korea and the international community, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
How It Impacts The Ongoing Conflict
North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia would be its first participation in a major war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korea considers North Korea's advancing nuclear arsenal a major security threat to the country. Many experts questioned how much North Korean troops would help Russia in the battlefield, citing their lack of combat experience, as per a report by AP.
Tensions have escalated after Kim Jong Un permanently terminated his country's ties with South Korea. Kim has also threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively. Some observers say South Korea will likely consider supplying weapons to Ukraine if Russian transfers of high-tech nuclear and missile technologies to North Korea are verified, claimed AP.
(With agency inputs)