There have been growing reports in recent weeks that North Korea is stepping up its aid to Russia in the Ukraine war.
The Independent reported earlier this week that Ukraine is anticipating as many as 50,000 more North Korean soldiers heading to Russia, following earlier reports that North Korea had sent 16,000 personnel to the Kursk region.
North Korea KN-23 Missile DPRK State Media
In addition, Reuters reported last week that Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency believes that a North Korean missile unit, featuring 90 people, six launchers, and 120 ballistic missiles, was headed to Russia’s Voronezh region, and that as many as 40 such missiles had already been supplied.
The Kyiv Independent had reported that Russia’s ballistic missile barrage at Ukraine last week contained some North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles, which would have marked the first instance of such missiles in the war in about a year.
North Korea is one of Russia’s few allies and is believed to receive licenses for certain weapons, as well as military know-how from the Russians as part of their assistance in the war effort.
Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shared news of another Russian attack, using North Korea’s missiles.
Strikes on Zaporizhzhia
According to the BBC, six people were killed and 19 injured in overnight strikes on Zaporizhzhia. Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov, the BBC reported, posted photos to social media of buildings on fire as a result of the attack.
In a televised address, the Ukrainian leader claimed that the attack, at least in part, consisted of North Korean missiles. He also positioned it as a sign of Russia’s weakness.
M2020 Tank from North Korea. Image Credit: KCNA/North Korea State Media.
Russia, Zelensky said in that address, “cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea.”
“The more North Korean strikes there are here in Ukraine, in Europe, the more their missiles and soldiers are used, the more they correct their shortcomings and blind spots,” Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian President went on to promise “more Ukrainian deep strikes, which should demonstrate to Russia and the Russians that peace is necessary.” This followed another series of strikes by Ukraine on at least one Wildberries facility in Russia.
Another Retail Attack
According to the Moscow Times, on the same night, a Ukrainian drone attack on Tuesday killed one person in Russia’s southwestern Voronezh region, with Wildberries, the retailer known as Russia’s answer to Amazon, stating that its facility there was struck. The company said that the facility was evacuated and that “most” of the merchandise there was undamaged.
There were also reports of an attack on an “industrial enterprise” in Russia’s Orenburg region, near Kazakhstan, although no injuries were reported.
The Conversation wrote this week about why Ukraine has been attacking Wildberries locations, in a series of attacks that began in mid-July. It’s all about disrupting life in Russia and bringing the war home.
“A single strike can destroy stock belonging to thousands of businesses, interrupt deliveries across several regions, and affect customers far from the site that is attacked,” The Conversation analysis said of what happens when Wildberries’ distribution hubs are attacked. Wildberries claims about 75 million monthly users, with 1 million sellers doing business on the platform.
A New Axis?
Meanwhile, The Diplomat wrote this week about what it calls the “China-Russia-North Korea Authoritarian Axis,” and the shadow it’s beginning to cast over both the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
Per the analysis by Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, China has been selling shoulder-launched missile systems to Iran, while Russia has assisted Iran in some ways as well. And “North Korea is involved too, completing the authoritarian axis.”
The Diplomat also cited this week’s reports that North Korea is sending more personnel to Russia to fight against Ukraine. Zelensky, the analyst noted, has also stated that Russia is helping North Korea to “learn how to wage war, improve its weapons and gain real combat experience in using them.”
This “Axis,” the analysis says, has potentially troubling implications for countries in Asia, especially in the event of a potential future confrontation over Taiwan.
“Australia and other Indo-Pacific powers should be alert to deepening cooperation between authoritarian powers,” Rajagopalan writes. “Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific targets could be next.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
