North Korea may send up to 100,000 of its troops to Russia to participate in the war with Ukraine. According to information from sources familiar with the views of the G20 countries, this is possible if the alliance between the leaders of Russia and North Korea is further strengthened.
Bloomberg reported this.
The data is part of a series of analyzes on the growing partnership between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that such a move is not imminent and, if it happens, would likely involve a gradual rotation of troops rather than a massive one-time deployment of the army.
Previously, the Ukrainian ambassador to South Korea, Dmitry Ponomarenko, in an interview with VOA, also expressed the opinion that Ukraine suggests that North Korea could send up to 15 thousand soldiers, who will be stationed in the Russian Kursk region and possibly in the occupied region. territories of eastern Ukraine. These troops, he said, will undergo regular rotation every few months.
South Korean officials, including the Defense Ministry and the presidential administration, did not comment on this information.
At the same time, Ukraine’s allies have expressed concern about the possible sending of North Korean troops to Russia, fearing it could escalate a conflict that has already become the biggest war in Europe since World War II. Deepening military cooperation between Putin and Kim could also affect security in the Indo-Pacific region, where competition between China and the United States has intensified.
The issue is likely to be discussed at the G-20 summit in Brazil this week, including a meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bloomberg previously reported. Scholz, after a conversation with Putin, pointed out that the deployment of North Korean troops would be a “serious escalation” of the war against Ukraine. German officials also said that at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Scholz would insist that the Chinese leader use his influence with Russia and North Korea to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
Recall that Kursor wrote that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, while at the Berlin airport before flying to the G20 summit in Brazil, said that his conversation with Vladimir Putin, which took place on November 15, showed that the president Russian had not changed his position. about the wars in Ukraine.
