(Adnkronos) – North Korea could send its soldiers to Ukraine to help Russia. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Seoul’s Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun told parliament that Pyongyang is likely planning to send regular troops, “given that Russia and North Korea have signed a treaty similar to a military alliance. The possibility of such a deployment is high.”.
Asked about a report by Ukrainian media in recent days that North Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded near Donetsk, the minister said this was also likely to be true. “We believe there were casualties and deaths among North Korean soldiers in Ukraine,” Kim said, according to Politico.
North Korea has reportedly supplied Russia with large quantities of artillery shells and ballistic missiles during the war with Ukraine. There have also been reports of North Korean military or police personnel leaving to join “reconstruction efforts” in Donbass in early 2023 and plans to send military trainers in July this year.
The two countries signed a mutual defense pact during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in recent months. “Relations between Russia and North Korea are evolving to become as close as a military alliance – Kim said – Therefore, from our point of view, more North Korean troops could be deployed in the war.”.
