North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived in Russia’s far east on Tuesday en route to Moscow for talks as the Russia-Ukraine war took a dangerous new turn, with NATO and South Korea expressing concern about the possibility of North Korean troops joining the conflict on Moscow’s side.
NATO announced on Monday that thousands of North Korean troops were moving toward the front lines, prompting Kyiv to call for additional weapons and an international plan to deter these troops.
Two U.S. officials confirmed on Tuesday that some North Korean soldiers are present in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August and control hundreds of square kilometers of territory.
The United States has stated that any North Korean troops participating in the war would be “fair game” for Ukrainian attacks and that Washington would not impose any restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons if North Korea entered the conflict.
South Korea, which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed North decades after the Korean War, also condemned the deployments, with officials in Seoul expressing concern about what Russia may be providing to Pyongyang in return.
Russian state media reported that Choe Son Hui, making her second visit in six weeks, arrived in Russia’s far east on Tuesday. Russian state news agencies said the individuals Choe would meet were unclear.
The Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no plans to meet with her.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday that the North Korean moves signaled a new phase in the war.
“This war is becoming internationalized, extending beyond two countries,” Zelenskiy said on X.
“We agreed to strengthen intelligence and expertise exchange, intensify contacts at all levels, especially the highest, in order to develop an action strategy and countermeasures to address this escalation,” Zelenskiy said.
Yoon told Zelenskiy that if North Korea receives aid from Russia and is able to gain military experience and knowledge from its involvement in the war, it would pose a “great threat” to South Korea’s security, his office said.
South Korea has suggested it may start supplying weapons to Ukraine if North Korean troops joined Russia’s war. Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in the country.
SYMBOLIC?
The exact role of the North Korean troops remains unclear.
“The numbers make this more than a symbolic effort, but the troops will likely be in support roles and constitute less than 1% of Russia’s forces,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank said in a note.
“Russia is desperate for additional manpower, and this is one element of Russia’s effort to fill the ranks without a second mobilization,” it added, noting the presence could grow.
The troops are also likely to have a political impact for Russia and North Korea, strengthening their positions in relations with China, which has a complex partnership with both countries, and sending a message to Washington and its allies, Western diplomats and analysts said.
“The closer Moscow’s ties to Pyongyang, the more leverage it expects over U.S. allies as well as China,” Gilbert Rozman, of The Asan Forum, wrote for the U.S.-based 38 North programme.
Moscow needed a partner hostile to the status quo, wary of China but unwilling to antagonize it, and helpful in meeting arms or perhaps labor needs, he said.
A few thousand North Korean troops will not alter the course of the war, so it may be a Russian attempt to emphasize to the United States how disruptive Moscow can be if it chooses, said one diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Integrating North Korean troops into a very complex war machine is not easy. But using their presence to scare the United States and its allies in Asia is quite simple,” the diplomat said.
TROOPS TRAINING
The Ukraine conflict began when Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022 and has since evolved into a war of attrition largely fought along front lines in eastern Ukraine, with heavy casualties on both sides.
The Pentagon estimated 10,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to eastern Russia for training, up from an estimate of 3,000 troops last Wednesday.
The military in Russia was attempting to teach military terminology to the North Korean soldiers, South Korean lawmakers briefed by the country’s spy agency said on Tuesday.
Moscow was also continuing to provide technical support for North Korea’s efforts to deploy a fleet of spy satellites, the lawmakers said.
For months, North Korea has been supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, artillery shells, and other weapons, according to intelligence officials in the United States, South Korea, and Ukraine.