Arab Defense Website, October 16, 2024: A Western diplomat familiar with the matter told a newspaper Kyiv Independent Yesterday, October 15, North Korea sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia to strengthen its war efforts against Ukraine.
Concerns have risen about Deepening military relations between Moscow and Pyongyang In a big way this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 13 that Russia’s plans to support its full invasion of Ukraine this fall would include “the actual involvement of North Korea in the war.”
The Western diplomat told the Kyiv Independent newspaper that it was not clear what type of soldiers they were or what their roles were.
Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian side commented on this matter.
As military ties between Russia and North Korea deepen, Western diplomats and experts say it is a sign of Moscow’s growing need for resources to continue waging its costly war in Ukraine.
“It is a clear indication of how far Russia and its military have retreated over the past two and a half years, having to beg, borrow and buy support from North Korea,” John Foreman, a former British military attaché in Moscow from 2019 to 2022, told the Kiev Independent.
Earlier this year, the two countries signed a mutual defense agreement during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang.
As part of the alliance, the North Korean military announced that an engineering unit would join Russian forces on the ground in the Donetsk region the following month.
No photo or video evidence of this happening has yet emerged.
On October 14, Putin submitted the treaty, which stipulates that one country must provide military assistance to the other in the event of an attack, to the Russian Duma for ratification.
Zelensky warned on October 13 that Russia and North Korea were deepening their alliance, saying the partnership had escalated to the point where North Korea was sending personnel to the front lines in Ukraine along with weapons.
“It is no longer just a matter of transporting weapons,” he said. “It’s actually about transferring people from North Korea to the Russian military forces.”
The warning came in the wake of reports from South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jong-hyun that North Korea might deploy regular forces in Ukraine to help Russia on the front.
Reports have also emerged in recent days that North Korean officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Russian-controlled territory.
It was unable to verify these reports, which were only confirmed by one intelligence source.
Ukrainian and American officials have claimed that North Korea is supplying Russia Ballistic missiles and huge amounts of artillery shells Since fall 2023.