North Korean soldiers ‘highly likely’ killed in Ukraine: Seoul
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Smoke billowing following an air attack in Kostyantynivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, on Oct 5.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL - North Korean soldiers are likely fighting in Ukraine alongside Russian troops, with some believed already killed and more expected to be sent, Seoul’s defence chief said on Oct 8.
Ukrainian media reported that six North Korean military officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk on Oct 3.
Seoul’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun told lawmakers on Oct 8 that it was “highly likely, considering various circumstances” that the report was true.
“We assess that the occurrence of casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly likely, considering various circumstances,” he said.
North Korea is expected to send more regular soldiers to support Russia’s war effort, he added.
“The issue of deploying regular troops is highly likely due to the mutual agreements that resemble a military alliance between Russia and North Korea,” Mr Kim said.
Experts have long said North Korean missiles are being deployed in Ukraine by Russian forces – something both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied.
“For North Korea, which has supplied Russia with many shells and missiles, it’s crucial to learn how to handle different weapons and gain real-world combat experience,” said Dr Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.
“This might even be a driving factor behind sending North Korean soldiers – to provide them with diverse experiences and wartime training,” he told AFP.
It is likely that higher-ranking North Korean officials would have been dispatched to Russia earlier on, to help manage the North Korean weaponry or facilitate training on their use, Dr Lim said.
“What’s new here is not only the potential for continued artillery and weapons support from North Korea, but also their growing involvement, such as using North Koreans as additional labour as the war drags on.”
The key question, he added, is what North Korea will get in return from Russia
North Korea is barred by UN sanctions from any tests using ballistic technology.
But Russia used its UN Security Council veto in March to effectively end UN monitoring of violations, for which Pyongyang has specifically thanked Moscow.
North Korea is expected to scrap a landmark inter-Korean agreement signed in 1991 at a parliamentary meeting this week as part of leader Kim Jong Un’s drive to officially define the South, Washington’s security ally, as an enemy state.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II, and have drawn even closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
