(Adnkronos) – “Gradual measures”, “strong” and “effective” measures, in the face of strengthening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. To ‘promise them’ is South Korea, which is asking for “the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops”, while news from South Korean and Ukrainian sources continues to circulate about troops that Pyongyang has allegedly made available to support its ally Moscow. And while the conflict in Ukraine continues and the European debate on ‘boots on the ground’ seems to be reopening, the BRICS summit in Kazan brings together Vladimir Putin’s ‘friends’ and the US elections are approaching with all the uncertainties about the future of support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of a “criminal alliance” between Russia and North Korea, considered a “new threat”, after “clear evidence of personnel made available by North Korea to Russia”. For Pyongyang it is a matter of “”unfounded rumors”. And Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, does not hesitate to call Kiev and Seoul “bad dogs raised by the United States”.
“Another state joins the war against Ukraine”, Zelensky accused two days ago, shortly after presenting his “plan for victory”. And today, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports, a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) was held in Seoul, following the summoning of the Russian ambassador. All after intelligence reported Pyongyang’s decision to send 12,000 troops to “assist” Russia, with some 1,500 special forces units already in Vladivostok, they say. The NSC called it a “significant security threat” to both South Korea and internationally, and a “blatant violation” of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. NATO and the US are monitoring.
In this context, an analysis in the Guardian by Dan Sabbagh, a defence and security expert, pointed out how North Korean weapons are more significant than troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Because, the reasoning goes, even if the North Korean deployment were to reach 12,000 troops, it would be a modest commitment compared to the approximately 600,000 Russian troops already in Ukraine.
According to Sam Cranny-Evans of the Rusi (Royal United Services Institute), North Korean troops could be deployed near the front lines in “logistics support” or in the rear or on Russian territory, but they could also simply participate in “rotational training”. Yet, Sabbagh points out, South Korean intelligence has reported something far more significant, at least for Russia, believing it has monitored 70 deliveries of ammunition since last August. Estimates speak of significant quantities.
Meanwhile, news of North Korean troops seems to be reviving a debate that apparently never ended. On Sunday in Politico, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said it was time for Europeans to revisit French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of deploying troops to Ukraine: “If reports are confirmed that Russia’s death squads will be equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel, we need to go back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by Macron.”.
“If illegal cooperation between North Korea and Russia continues”, South Korea “will not stand idly by, but will respond firmly in cooperation with the international community,” assured Kim Tae-hyo, deputy national security adviser, from Seoul. Among the options on the table, a presidential official said, is the possibility of sending “defensive and offensive” weapons. Already in June, Yonhap recalls, South Korea – which is sending humanitarian aid to Kiev – had indicated the possibility of supplying arms to Ukraine following the pact between Putin and Kim. Now, according to government sources quoted by the agency, Seoul is “evaluating sending personnel to Ukraine to monitor the tactics and combat capabilities of North Korean special forces deployed in support of Russia”. In the event of a deployment, it could be military personnel from intelligence units.
It is also in this context that the words of Kim’s powerful sister are inserted, who has returned to accuse Seoul of sending drones towards Pyongyang, a “military provocation”, threatening “terrible and fatal” retaliation against Seoul, going so far as to accuse Seoul and Kiev of provoking “states with nuclear weapons”. This is a time, observed Richard Fontaine of the Center for a New American Security think tank, when “Russia has offered Pyongyang the kind of political support that in the past was only seen from Beijing”.
