Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that as many as 50,000 North Korean soldiers could be deployed to Russia to fight along with its ally against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy posted on X over the weekend that “a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia,” a higher figure than his earlier estimate of 30,000 in July. He did not get into specifics as to why that number has increased.
Iran’s Drones That Russia Is Using. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
This news coincides with the planned and controversial Russian mobilization by President Putin, which may not be as large as thought after all.
Last month, it was rumored that the North Korean military was sending an additional 30,000 troops to bolster the flagging Russian forces in Ukraine.
The South China Morning Post wrote that in addition to the 30,000 troops, Pyongyang is also sending additional missile launchers to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy Says North Korean Missiles Found In Ukrainian Territory
Zelenskyy added Kyiv had found some North Korean missiles in Ukraine’s territory, without disclosing their locations.
“It is absolutely clear that North Korea will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licenses from Russia, and receive all kinds of military tools from them,” he said.
Zelenskyy warned in July that Pyongyang was planning to send missiles and missile launchers to use against the Ukrainians.
“This is a threat not only to Ukraine. Russia is helping North Korea learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them,” he said.
Shahed Drone from Ukraine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“All of this poses a threat to every country in Asia that lies within range of North Korean missiles.”
With this latest development, Zelenskyy urged South Korea to send aid to Ukraine and work on closer cooperation between the two countries.
He said that Ukraine “would very much like to receive support from South Korea in an area where we have a shortage,” referring to its air defense systems.
“We are ready to work on the drone deal and other areas as well,” he said, adding that Ukrainian diplomats “are in contact” with Seoul to push potential deals.
North Korea Will Stand With Russia “Until Victory Is Achieved”
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Moscow last month.
Choe pledged that Pyongyang “will stand by Moscow until victory is achieved in the Ukraine war”, and in return, Russia offered “full support” for North Korea’s national security.
General Secretary Kim Jong Un had called from the very beginning for North Korea to “consistently and resolutely support and assist the Russian army and the Russian people in their sacred war, without regard for anyone else,” she reportedly said.
The Addition Of 30,000 – 50,000 Troops Is a Major Escalation
Regardless of whether Putin goes through with his planned 300,000-500,000 troop mobilization, the influx of up to 50,000 more North Koreans to the battlefield, more than double the 14,000 troops already deployed, carries significant military, geopolitical, and security implications.
This is a dramatic escalation of North Korea’s involvement in the war. Pyongyang sent those 14,000 troops to help curb Ukraine’s Kursk offensive.
However, they sustained horrible casualties utilizing near suicidal frontal assaults before adjusting their tactics.
Tens of thousands of fresh foreign troops provide Moscow with the manpower needed to sustain large-scale ground offensives in occupied Ukrainian territories without triggering a domestic political backlash via a new mass mobilization.
By adding this many combat troops, which further internationalizes the war, it puts pressure on NATO and Western Europe to re-evaluate the limits of their support and intervention framework for the Ukrainians.
But this also has implications for the Korean Peninsula.
With the reports that Russia has sent troops to North Korea to train the North Korean military on how to use combat drones and air-defense systems, but also to help set up in North Korea the production of Russian variants of the Iranian-developed Shahed/Geran attack drones.
Reuters reported that a Ukrainian military intelligence official said that a North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine.
Ukraine is very short of high-end air defenses, and Russia has tried to exploit this by using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard to shoot down.
North Korea’s KN-23 and KN-24 missiles have a greater range and larger payload than Russia’s Iskander ballistic missile, but are much less accurate and have been linked to strikes with high civilian death tolls, according to Ukrainian military sources.
“Ballistic missile defence is one of Ukraine’s greatest vulnerabilities, so any increase in the quantities of ballistic missiles they face will pose a greater challenge,” Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
