Summary of Why North Korea is Suddenly Involved In the Russia-Ukraine War

By
Chew Ming Hui
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If you were anywhere on the internet in the past week, you’ve probably heard that North Korea is suddenly now involved in the Russia-Ukraine war.

If you haven’t, then you should probably spend less time on TikTok lah. Read some news instead.

But why did North Korea suddenly get involved and how exactly are they involved? Would this change the trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine war?

Goody Feed is here to answer those questions. Here is everything you need to know about North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.

How North Korea is Suddenly Involved in the Russia-Ukraine War

On Wednesday (23 October), the US said that it had seen evidence of North Korean troops in Russia. Specifically, the US claimed that 3,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia to potentially be deployed for the Russia-Ukraine war.

The North Korean troops were deployed in Russia by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un’s orders. The US believes that at least 3,000 North Korean troops were undergoing training at three different military bases in eastern Russia.

But how did the North Korean troops even get there?

According to the US’s White House spokesperson John Kirby, the North Korean troops got there by ship. The soldiers had begun their journey to the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok in early- to mid-October. Upon arrival at Vladivostok, the North Korean troops were taken to the three military bases.

Moving 3,000 troops to Russia without anyone realising until all 3,000 troops were already in Russia… That’s quite a feat.

And if you thought the 3,000 troops were already a lot, the South Koreans have some news for you.

According to South Korean lawmakers, North Korea had allegedly promised to provide not just 3,000 troops, but approximately 10,000 troops to Russia. These troops’ deployment was expected to be completed by December.

Alongside the deployment of these North Korean troops to Russia, North Korean authorities are allegedly relocating and isolating the families of these troops as well.

This was done apparently to control the families of deployed soldiers and to keep news of the deployment under wraps.

Why North Korean Troops Were Deployed to Russia

While Russian President Vladimir Putin omitted to confirm whether the North Korean troops were indeed in Russia, the 72-year-old also did not deny the claim.

So, if there truly are North Korean troops deployed to Russia, this begs the question — why? Well, it’s not a straightforward answer. All sorts of potential reasons have been suggested for why these North Korean troops were deployed.

However, one particular reason appears to stand out more — the very simple reason that Russia needs more manpower for the Russia-Ukraine war.

The US has suggested that the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia could be a sign that the Russian military was struggling with manpower.

After all, Russian casualty numbers in the Russia-Ukraine war have been rather high — some Western estimates from last month clock it at more than 1,000 Russian casualties a day. Other US officials have shared that Russia has suffered more than 600,000 killed or wounded troops in the Russia-Ukraine war thus far.

The manpower issue is further exacerbated by Putin’s attempts to distance the ethnic Russian middle class from the Russia-Ukraine war. The Russian leader has been reluctant to mobilise this class of Russians, given that they form the core domestic support for his regime.

Instead, Russia has relied heavily on non-Russian ethnic minorities, prisoners and foreign fighters for manpower in the Russia-Ukraine war.

It’s a simple matter of logic. The pool of potential manpower is already restricted but casualty rates are high — at some point, manpower is bound to become an issue.

And it seems to be the case that Russia is solving the problem using North Korean troops.

How North Korea’s Involvement Could Change Things

If North Korean troops are eventually mobilised to fight for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war, several consequences could follow — none of them being great ones.

For one, the logical consequence is this — if North Korean troops are indeed deployed to fight for the Russian end in the Russia-Ukraine war, they’re “fair targets”.

In other words, the Ukrainian military would defend themselves against these North Korean troops the same way they would defend themselves against Russian troops.

North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war could potentially prompt the US to take direct military action as well — there are already signs of such ideas being floated.

The chair of the US House of Representatives intelligence committee, Mike Turner, said that the US should allow Ukraine to respond using US-supplied weapons if North Korean troops attack Ukraine from Russian territory.

For context, up till now, the US has imposed certain restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-supplied weapons. A few months back, the spotlight was shone on how the US limits the use of its weapons for long-range attacks on Russian territory.

Yet, the use of US-supplied weapons by Ukraine is still far from the last potential consequence which could flow from North Korean involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“If North Korean troops were to invade Ukraine’s sovereign territory, the United States needs to seriously consider taking direct military action against the North Korean troops,” Turner added.

Even South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has chimed in on the potential consequences of North Korean involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war — the President shared that South Korea would “review” its ban on direct lethal aid to Ukraine.

Well, that’s a lot of different things that could happen, but we can’t predict the future lah. We’ll have to wait and see.

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Chew Ming Hui
Email: [email protected]