(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — One week after Russia and North Korea signed a defense pact, Pyongyang announced it would deploy its military units to Ukraine to support Russian forces currently engaged in the conflict there.
The North Korean military engineering units are set to assist Russian military campaigns in the Donetsk region.
These units are expected to arrive in Donetsk next month, sparking global concerns about Pyongyang’s increased involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
As is typical, news of the North Korean military engineering units’ deployment to Ukraine was met with threats from the United States.
Washington stated that the North Korean troops sent to Ukraine would be “slaughtered,” questioning the propriety of Pyongyang’s decision to send troops to aid Russia’s military campaign.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense commented, “If I were a member of the North Korean military, I would question the wisdom of being sent to Ukraine to participate in an unlawful war in Eastern Europe.”
He added that the U.S. would continue to monitor the increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea, marking his first trip to Pyongyang in 24 years.
During his visit, President Putin and his counterpart Kim Jong Un signed a military cooperation agreement.
The Russia-North Korea military pact states, “In the event that either party is engaged in a war with aggression from another country or countries, the other party must provide military assistance and other support with all possible urgency.”
Previously, even without a formal military pact, North Korea reportedly sent various military aids to Russia.
Last year, North Korea reportedly supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) for use in the conflict in Ukraine.
South Korean intelligence revealed that approximately 2,000 containers of SRBMs, anti-tank guided missiles, and other munitions were shipped from Rajin, North Hamgyong Province to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
The total of 2,000 containers containing missiles and various munitions sent by North Korea to Russia is more than the 1,000 containers initially reported by the United States based on satellite imagery.
South Korean military suspects that these 2,000 containers contained more than 200,000 122mm artillery shells and over one million 152mm artillery shells among other munitions.
South Korean officials noted that signs of North Korea supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia have been detected since mid-last year and the shipments increased in August before the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia.
Furthermore, there are claims that North Korea sent its latest SRBM, the Hwasong-11 (KN-23), to assist Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
International weapons experts cited by the media report that Russia has deployed the North Korean-made SRBMs, which are quick to launch and conceal, capable of striking targets with high precision.
The Hwasong-11 SRBMs are difficult to intercept by air defense systems, significantly expanding Moscow’s arsenal options in its military campaign against Kiev.
Russia is believed to have used the Hwasong-11 SRBMs to strike Ukraine in two incidents that occurred on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024. — DSA