North Korea Joins Russia’s Fight In Ukraine; West Concerned (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SEOUL/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The West has expressed concern after South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence sources said North Korea is sending up to 12,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war based on intelligence information.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a Friday security meeting, saying the international community must respond with “all available means.”
Spy sources said 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia, but anonymous officials told South Korean media that the final figure joining the battle could be closer to 12,000.
Footage reviewed by Worthy News provided by the government-linked SPRAVDI outlet purportedly showed Russia’s Sergievsky Training Ground with North Korean troops receiving Russian gear in preparation for deployment to Ukraine.
Lines of Asian military men could be seen passing tables to sign up and pick up military belongings.
The video footage could not be independently verified, but it confirmed reports that the first troops had arrived.
THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS
In recent days, Zelenskyy said, “From our intelligence, we’ve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine. They are preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers, but they haven’t moved them already to Ukraine or to Russia.”
He spoke Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels after a European summit where he had come to defend his “victory plan.”
Moscow denounced this as “fake news.”
However, the reports come after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveled to Russia last year for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two men bolstered their deepening ties at the summit with a secret arms deal.
They also signed an agreement pledging that Russia and North Korea would help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.
Pyongyang’s ammunition shipments were vital in allowing Russian forces to advance in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine this summer, Western sources say.
But it appears increasingly clear that the agreement went beyond supplying material.
NORTH KOREANS KILLED
North Koreans were among the dead after a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk last week, South Korean and Ukrainian officials said. It was not clear if they were military engineers or other forces.
Observers say that while foreigners have fought as private mercenaries for Russia, North Koreans on the ground would mark the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform to support the battle.
“This is the first step to world war,” Zelenskyy warned.
Washington, too, said it is “highly concerned” about reports that North Korean soldiers have been deployed alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. However, it claimed it had so far been unable to verify the allegations made by South Korea and Ukraine.
“We are highly concerned by reports of [North Korean] soldiers fighting on behalf of Russia,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in remarks seen by Worthy News.
“We are unable to confirm whether these reports are accurate, but if true, this would mark a dangerous development in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he added.
Savett said that such a move would “indicate Russia’s growing desperation” as it suffers “extraordinary casualties on the battlefield in its brutal war against Ukraine.”
‘NOT STRENGTH’
“If Russia is indeed forced to turn to [North Korea] for manpower, this would be a sign of desperation, not strength, on the part of the Kremlin,” Savett said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed, saying that if the participation of the North Korean military on the side of the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine were confirmed, it would demonstrate the Kremlin’s “level of desperation.”
Russia has suffered massive losses since its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine — which many in the Kremlin reportedly expected to last just a few days. U.S. government sources say that Russia has been suffering more than 1,200 casualties a day in recent months. However, Ukraine, too, suffered heavy losses.
Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them soldiers, are believed to have been killed or injured in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
North Koreans joining the battle were likely forced by the country’s autocratic leader, described as a ruthless dictator by refugees.
Kim is known to have ordered the killings of perceived opponents. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of people, including devoted Christians, are suffering in labor camps known for torture and executions, numerous sources say.
Christian rights investigators also say that North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war will make it more difficult for Christians to escape as border controls have been further tightened.
If a person is discovered to be a Christian in North Korea, they are either killed right away or taken to a labor camp as a political criminal, according to Christians. The country ranks number 1 in the annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.
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