-
Advertisement
South Korea
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Will South Korea give ‘lethal’ help to Kyiv if North Korean troops fight in Ukraine?

North Korea has committed to sending a total of 12,000 troops to Russia, media reports say, citing South Korea’s spy agency

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
12
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects an army special forces training base. Photo: dpa
Park Chan-kyong
North Korea’s reported deployment of more than 10,000 of its troops to Russia to back Moscow’s war effort could potentially pressure the South to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons and escalate the conflict, observers say.

Some analysts, however, say Pyongyang’s priority is its domestic security, particularly what it views as growing threats from the “extended” nuclear deterrence provided by the United States to Seoul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently claimed his government had intelligence indicating that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being deployed to join Russian forces in their war against Ukraine.

Advertisement
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that Russian navy ships transported 1,500 North Korean special operations troops to Vladivostok between October 8 and October 13.

The NIS also said more North Korean forces were expected to be sent to Russia soon.

Advertisement

South Korea’s foreign ministry on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador in Seoul on Monday to protest against North Korean troops being sent to Russia for deployment in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun told Russian envoy Georgy Zinoviev that North Korean soldiers should be immediately withdrawn from Russia.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x