North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint defense and cooperation treaty in June of this year, significantly strengthening the ties between their nations since the Cold War. Recently, Ukraine has reported that North Korean troops have arrived in the combat zones of Kursk, along the Russian border, where Russian forces have been struggling to fend off Ukrainian military operations for months. Putin has not denied these reports of North Korean troop deployments to Russia.
The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has now lasted over two years. On August 6, Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Kursk from the northeast, catching Moscow off guard and boosting morale among Ukrainians.
In June, during his meeting with Kim Jong-un, Putin signed an agreement on mutual defense. There are strong suspicions that North Korea has been supplying weapons and equipment to Russia for its aggression against Ukraine. However, the actual participation of North Korean troops on the ground would signify an escalation in the conflict.
According to a report from Agence France-Presse, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency (GUR) stated today that the first units of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have “arrived in the combat zones of the Russia-Ukraine war,” with sightings of these troops reported in Kursk just yesterday.
Ukrainian officials claim that approximately 12,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia, though they did not specify how many are stationed in Kursk. U.S. and South Korean intelligence indicates that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia for training.
Putin today did not deny the deployment of North Korean soldiers and remarked, “Russia has never doubted that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea takes its cooperation with us seriously; we are coordinating with our North Korean friends.” He further stated, “How we choose to proceed is our business.”
Just hours before Putin’s statements, the Russian State Duma unanimously approved a treaty with North Korea that stipulates mutual assistance in the event of aggression against either side. This treaty is expected to pass in the Federation Council on November 6.
