Seoul, South Korea — Recent intelligence has caused new concern on the Korean Peninsula and around the world, as information leaks have indicated North Korea may have deployed forces to Russia. This development is coming at a time global geopolitics is changing with information that North Korea and Russia are fast developing a military cooperation. It has led South Korea to summon a Russian ambassador as it wants Russia to expel the alleged North Korean troops in Russia.
UAC last week, North Korea deployed 1,500 special forces to Russia. It also supports the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stated that 10 thousand North Koreans are being prepared to be sent to Ukraine to support the Russian army. Given the prospect of the North Korean troops in the conflict, there are many security implications for South Korea and the world in general.
In response to these developments, South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun expressed strong condemnation of North Korea’s troop movements during a meeting with Russian Ambassador Georg Zinoviev. Kim stressed that such actions are dangerous for the security of South Korea and declared readiness to counter threats together with other countries. Nevertheless, the Russian Embassy stressed that it cooperates with Pyongyang this way legally and does not pose a threat to South Korea.
Even the United States has intervened in the same matter. The Pentagon’s chief, Lloyd Austin, has acknowledged that there are North Korean servicemen in Russia for the first time. Austin described the potential involvement of North Korean forces in Ukraine as a “very serious issue” that could have far-reaching implications for both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Neither the U.S. nor NATO has publicly declared that the contingent has been dispatched, but both have raised alarm at the threat posed by such a realignment.
Some experts believe that if Moscow and Pyongyang are indeed telling the truth and North Korean troops are not in Ukraine, then the revelation could force a rethink of methods by countries such as South Korea, which provides military aid. An earlier policy on arms export has seen Seoul not provide weapons that are lethal to conflict regions but may change its stand if strategic equipment is bartered between Russia and North Korea.
Participation of the North Korean force would deploy it for the first time outside Korea since the Korean War in 1953. North Korean troops’ participation in the drills can raise questions as to their effectiveness on the battleground due to their limited experience. Nevertheless, the movement of North Korean troops toward Russia proves that the relations between Pyongyang and Moscow are strengthening. Analysts have questioned this partnership as one that may involve trades of military practices that may strengthen North Korea’s nuclear program.
In this regard, South Korea does not lower its guard and closely tracks events near its borders and everywhere else. The scenario pointed to the rising international relations on the Korean peninsula, and the fact that the regional players faced a range of issues in the course of shaping their relations.
