Is North Korean military fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine?

North Korea has reportedly entered the Russia-Ukraine war as thousands of its soldiers are expected to join Russian troops in their ongoing offensive against Kiev.

Claiming that Ukraine is now fighting against “two states”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday North Korea was sending both weapons and troops to Russia.

“These are workers for Russian factories, replacing Russian citizens killed in the war, and personnel for the Russian army… Russia – and its accomplices – want more wars,” Zelenskyy said in a speech.

US news outlet Politico quoted a Ukrainian military source as saying that 3,000 North Korean troops will be part of the so-called Buryat Battalion. Buryatia is a remote region of Russia bordering Mongolia that the Kremlin has targeted heavily for military recruitment.

The Kyiv Independent, however, claimed that North Korea was sending as many as 10,000 soldiers to Russia to boost its war efforts.

The erstwhile Soviet Union was a critical ally of North Korea during the Cold War when it extended economic aid, military support and diplomatic backing to Pyongyang against its pro-West southern rival.

But the cooperation between Russia and North Korea grew significantly after 2022 as the two nations forged a renewed bond aimed at staving off Western influence in their backyards.

Own goal?

North Korea’s military support for Moscow follows the Ukrainian incursion into the southern Kursk region of Russia in August. The invasion was hailed by pro-West commentators who likened it to the battle of Gettysburg.

However, the incursion might have “inadvertently dragged” North Korea into the war.

The fact that foreign troops entered the Russian territory gave Russia a justification to leverage the recent June 2024 Russia-North Korea strategic partnership agreement, which calls for mutual military support if either nation comes under foreign attack.

The Institute for the Study of War quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that the Russia-North Korea agreement is “unambiguous” in its provision of “mutual defence and security cooperation”.

“The Kremlin is likely using the ‘mutual defence’ provision of the agreement to provide the legal justification for the deployment of North Korean soldiers to the combat zone in Russia in response to the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast,” it said.

War-time ally

It’s not the first time that North Korea has extended military support to Russia in its ongoing battle against Ukraine. It earlier sent artillery shells and missiles as well.

Putin said the relationship of the two countries will be ramped up to a “new level” when he signed the partnership agreement in June. Their missile trade has been less well publicised, even though declassified US intelligence has directly linked fragments of rockets found in Ukraine to images of Kim touring a missile factory.

The Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, has placed Russia under heavy sanctions from the West, limiting its access to arms markets and leading it to turn to unconventional sources like North Korea.

Reports indicate that Pyongyang has been able to supply Russia with significant quantities of artillery shells and other armaments that have been crucial for Russia’s war effort.

In exchange, North Korea has likely benefited from increased access to Russian technology and possibly fuel, which is critical for a country struggling under economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.