Russia is suffering heavy losses in the war against Ukraine and is reluctant to announce new mobilizations. The 6,000 new troops promised by North Korea are undoubtedly welcome to Moscow. Both sides benefit
After visiting North Korea, former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is now Secretary of the Russian Security Council, said that leader Kim Jong-un will send 6,000 military engineers and workers to the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
This week, a delegation of North Korean military personnel left Pyongyang for Moscow, and North Korea is expected to send more troops soon to help the Kremlin in its aggressive war against Ukraine.
South Korean intelligence confirmed the information, adding that North Korea has already provided Russia with more than 10 million artillery shells and missiles, receiving economic support and military technology in return.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang benefit from the partnership
„Both Moscow and Pyongyang get what they want from it agreement“, says Yakov Zinberg of Kokushikan University in Tokyo.
“We know that Russia has suffered losses of hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded and that the government does not want to expand the mobilization to large cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg because that could threaten Putin's regime“, he told DW.
Meanwhile, North Korean authorities are trying to use the sending of troops as an occasion to raise national morale. In scenes broadcast on state media and apparently staged to provoke enthusiasm, Jong Un is seen placing the North Korean flag on the coffin of a soldier who died in Ukraine. Although the video shows only six coffins, Western intelligence reports suggest that of the 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent so far, about 6,000 have been killed, wounded or captured.
Russia must make up for its losses
While Pyongyang uses the troop deployment as a propaganda tool, it is of great benefit to the Russian authorities. "The majority of the troops mobilized in Russia so far have come from the outlying republics, and the resistance to their deployment has been weak, but when I talk to Russians, they always say they are afraid of a new mobilization," said Zinberg, who was born in St. Petersburg. He added: "When the authorities announce that another 6,000 North Korean soldiers will be sent to the front, the Russians are calm because they know that for the time being they are safe," he added. “In this way, sending the North Koreans helps Putin's regime.“
Zinberg also believes that the North Korean soldiers were also used to “spread fear“ among Ukraine's European allies, who hoped that Russia would sooner or later run out of men or ammunition.
Ra Jong-il, a former diplomat and senior South Korean intelligence officer, agrees that “the main reason” for North Korea to send more troops to the front in Ukraine is the losses that Russia has suffered. “It seems that the soldiers will also be used as laborers to build new infrastructure in the occupied regions. North Korean soldiers are good at such activities because they often do it in their homeland,“ the diplomat added.
“I expect them to remain close even after the war ends“
North Korea “will continue to send more people even after the fighting ends, as Russia will not have enough workers to rebuild the areas affected by the war,“ Ra Jong Il predicted.
According to intelligence, Russia has paid North Korea with fuel, food and access to military technology that Pyongyang previously did not have due to UN sanctions imposed over the regime's nuclear program.
Another benefit for Pyongyang is the prestige of being a key ally of a world power. North Korea can also benefit from this status in its trade and political relations with China, which has long been the closest ally and protector of the Kim Jong-un regime. “I expect them to remain close to Moscow after the war, providing soldiers and workers, because they know that this can bring them benefits that will support the regime and ensure its survival“, summarizes Yakov Zinberg.