War in Ukraine: Are North Korean regular army troops present alongside the Russians ?

La collaboration entre la Corée du Nord et la Russie pourrait s’intensifier MAXPPP – KCNA

Is Kim Jong Un's North Korea, an ally of Russia, present alongside its ally on the front lines in Ukraine? In any case, according to South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, it would be “very likely” he announced during a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, October 8.

While Ukraine has been at war with Russia since February 24, 2022, a Ukrainian media outlet claimed on the weekend of October 5 that six North Korean officers had been killed in the fighting by a Ukrainian missile near Donetsk, in Donbass, occupied by Russia.

During a parliamentary hearing, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun said: “We assess as highly probable that there have been casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine.”

Enhanced cooperation

Moreover, he specifies that Seoul expects that ties between Pyongyang and Moscow will be strengthened. “The question of the deployment of regular troops is very likely due to the mutual agreements (between Moscow and Pyongyang) that resemble a military alliance between Russia and North Korea”

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un met last June to sign a mutual defense agreement, which strengthens the collaboration between the two states. At the same time, the UN imposed sanctions on North Korea, banning any weapons tests using ballistic technology.

“This may even be a determining factor in the North Korean troops being sent there to provide them with various experiences and wartime training,”, said Lim Eul-Chul, a professor at the Far Eastern Institute in Seoul.

While many experts claim that North Korean missiles were deployed in Ukraine by Russia, both countries have consistently denied this. affirmations.