Ukrainian, South Korean and American sources all report that North Korea has transferred at least 10,000 soldiers to Russia, with some reports citing as many as 12,000 soldiers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he reserves the right to use North Korean soldiers: “It is our sovereign decision.”
Ukraine and its supporters strongly condemned the deployment of North Korean troops, fearing a further escalation of the war.
What do we know about where the soldiers are?
The troops were initially sent to Russia’s far east for training. According to media reports, they will, among other things, learn the most important military orders in Russian. They must also wear Russian uniforms.
Some soldiers have reportedly arrived in Russia’s Kursk region, close to the border with Ukraine. The Ukrainian army entered Kursk in a surprise attack in early August and took control of numerous villages. The Russian army wants to retake the area and can count on the support of North Korean soldiers.
There are indications that North Korean troops are present in Russia
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Why does Putin need North Korean troops?
The number of Russian victims in Ukraine is high. According to British military intelligence, an average of 1,271 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously injured every day in September 2024. In total, it is estimated that more than 600,000 have been killed since the war began in February 2022.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that Russia is “not in a position” to continue its attack on Ukraine “without foreign support”.
Putin urgently needs more soldiers. However, observers also wonder whether 10,000 North Koreans can make up for heavy Russian losses in the long term.
How could North Korean soldiers be deployed?
South Korean intelligence services believe the North Korean troops in question are highly trained special forces. It is still unclear how and where exactly they will operate.
“The North Korean military is designed to fight on the Korean Peninsula and not to be deployed abroad,” Mark Cancian, senior adviser for the international security program at the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told me. to DW.
Cancian believes none of the soldiers have ever been abroad before.
He said the soldiers could be given special tasks, for example in logistics or in connection with North Korean missiles being delivered to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed North Korean troops will be sent to the front. “Ukraine will essentially be forced to fight North Korea in Europe,” he said.
Ukraine: North Korean troops deployed in Kursk, Russia
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Is the North Korean army in Ukraine violating international law?
By waging war against Ukraine, Russia is violating international law. And if North Korea were to support Russia’s war of aggression with its own soldiers, “then North Korea would also be acting contrary to international law,” said Claus Kress, a professor of criminal law and international law at the University of Cologne in Germany. said DW.
Whether the North Korean soldiers are deployed in Russia’s Kursk region, in regions annexed by Russia or in other Ukrainian regions makes no difference, Kress said. In all these places, North Korea would at least support and encourage the use of force that violates international law.
Does the deployment in Ukraine make North Korea a party to the conflict?
This depends on command authority over the North Korean soldiers, Kress said.
“If Russia had sole command, the actions of these soldiers could be attributed solely to Russia under international law,” he said.
And North Korea would therefore not be a party to the conflict even if the soldiers deployed by North Korea directly participated in the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, he added.
“It would be different if North Korea retained command of the deployed soldiers, alone or together with Russia,” Kress said. North Korea would then become a party to the conflict through the direct involvement of its soldiers in the hostilities.
In this case, Kress said, Ukraine could also defend itself on North Korean territory “to a necessary and proportionate extent.” In other words, this means that military action must be taken against North Korea. If the use of force reaches a certain intensity, there would be an armed attack by North Korea on Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea are deepening military cooperation
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What does North Korea get in return?
With 1.3 million soldiers, North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. The deployment of the troops could provide the North Korean military with combat experience, which would further increase its threat potential vis-à-vis South Korea.
Prior to deploying troops, North Korea had already supplied Russia with several million rounds of ammunition and numerous ballistic missiles, as Russian ammunition depots had been depleted during the fighting in Ukraine.
The Russian quid pro quo would include food, fuel and possibly satellite technology.
After deploying troops, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may try to increase his demands again, says Victor Cha, the Korean chairman of the CSIS.
Kim is very interested in cutting-edge military technology, especially intercontinental missiles and nuclear submarines. “Kim is not stupid. He knows that Putin needs both the ammunition and the troops from North Korea. So why not ask for a higher price?” Cha said.
Whether Putin subsequently complies with this request is another matter.
Ukraine: Defense of the frontline city of Pokrovsk
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What connects Russia and North Korea?
Moscow and Pyongyang maintained close relations during the Cold War. Putin and Kim picked this up again after Moscow started the war in Ukraine.
North Korea’s support for Russia became clear early on when the country became one of only five countries to vote against the resolution condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine at the UN General Assembly in March 2022.
By closing ranks with Russia, internationally isolated North Korea was able to obtain desperately needed goods and technology, while Putin received ammunition and weapons for his army.
The cooperation culminated in a mutual defense pact in June 2024.
How has NATO responded?
On October 28, Secretary General Rutte demanded that Russia and North Korea ‘immediately stop these actions’.
He said the deployment of North Korean troops was “a further violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a dangerous extension of Russia’s war.”
Rutte also sees the deployment of North Korean troops in Kursk ‘as a sign of Putin’s growing desperation’. He has pledged continued NATO support to Ukraine.
How Russia, North Korea, Iran and China are forming new ties
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NATO must respond to this “unimaginable provocation,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a German member of the European Parliament, told the German government. Rheinische Post newspaper.
“The axis of evil is active. Who can guarantee that in a few years North Korean soldiers will not be deployed to the Baltic states or that the Chinese will not buy them to attack Taiwan?” she said.
What does all this mean for the EU?
Sending troops to Russia will have long-term consequences for North Korea’s relations with the European Union, Cha said. “Europe has traditionally been North Korea’s gateway to the West,” he said, “and was seen by Pyongyang as more ‘neutral’ than the United States.”
North Korean diplomats are present in most European countries, Cha said. “North Korea’s decision to send troops to kill Europeans will not soon be forgotten in European capitals.”
This article was originally written in German.