Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced these days that he discussed the deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol and that the two agreed to deepen defense cooperation, according to AFP.
The phone call came amid growing concerns among Kiev's allies about the apparent transfer of thousands of North Korean troops to support Moscow's invasion.
„We discussed the involvement of North Korean military forces in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The conclusion is clear – the war is becoming internationalized and is no longer limited only between two countries”, Zelensky wrote on social networks.
President Yoon, meanwhile, described the transfer of North Korean troops as “unprecedented and dangerous” and called for “close communication and countermeasures“.
Zelensky and Yun, according to transcripts of the conversation released by their offices, confirmed that Ukraine and South Korea will exchange delegation visits to deepen cooperation in the security and intelligence spheres.
According to Yun's office, he said Seoul would support peace “while working with allies to identify new cooperative measures to support the Ukrainian people”.
NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN MOSCOW
The news of the phone conversation between the two leaders came just after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hye arrived on a visit to Russia.
The visit of North Korea's number one diplomat to Moscow is the second in the last six weeks amid the dangerous turn the war is taking with a view to the possible involvement of Pyongyang's forces in it, notes Reuters.
According to the US and NATO, several thousand North Korean troops are in the Kursk region, the Russian border region where Ukrainian forces launched a major military operation in August and captured a several hundred square kilometer beachhead that they hold to this day.
American President Joe Biden described the deployment of North Korean troops as “very dangerous” and added that Ukraine should attack North Korean forces if they invade its territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean units in Russia. Moscow insists that it will decide for itself how to develop its relations with North Korea, including within the framework of the bilateral military mutual assistance pact concluded earlier this year by the two.
BENEFITS AND RISKS FOR NORTH KOREA
Among the units sent by the DPRK, there are said to be many elite units, but this has not stopped speculation that they will become cannon fodder because they lack combat experience, do not know the terrain and are likely to be deployed in the heaviest sections of the front, notes the Associated Press.
„They are too young and hardly understand where they have ended up. "They just think it's an honor to be chosen to go to Russia from among the rest of the North Korean soldiers," said Yi Won-il, a former fighter in the North Korean special forces known as the "Assault Corps" who defected to South Korea in 2017. "But I think most of them probably won't come back alive at all," he added.
If a large number of North Korean casualties are reached, it will create quite a political problem for the 40-year-old North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose government has not officially confirmed the deployment of the troops, AP notes. According to experts, this is still an opportunity for him to get foreign currency, which his country badly needs, and support to ensure the security of the DPRK in exchange for helping Russia in the war.
„Kim Jong-un is taking quite a gamble. If there aren't many victims, he will get somewhat of what he wants. But that will change if many of its soldiers die in battle,” said Ahn Chan-il, a former senior lieutenant in the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces, and now head of the International Institute of North Korean Studies, a Seoul think tank.< /p>
The Assault Corps, also known as the 11th Corps, is one of Kim's most elite units. At first, his main task was to carry out operations in South Korea during a war on the Korean Peninsula, such as implanting agents, blowing up important sites and eliminating key figures.
I Won-il, who served in the Assault Corps between 1998 and 2003, said that during his time the unit had better food and supplies than other units, but many of its servicemen still suffered from malnutrition and tuberculosis.
Despite North Korea's notable economic revival over the past 30 years, the average salary of a North Korean worker and soldier remains below $1, according to defectors. According to them, many people continue to illegally engage in private economic activity in order to survive.
Russia is expected to pay all costs associated with the maintenance of the North Korean troop deployment, including salaries, which observers say will be no less than $2,000 a month per person. About 90 – 95% of these funds will likely go to Kim's coffers, with the remainder going to them. This means that for a year's service in Russia, a North Korean soldier will earn 1,200 – 2400 dollars. That's enough for many young soldiers to volunteer for risky missions in Russia, former servicemen say.
According to Ahn, North Korea is likely to offer other social benefits such as raising the social status of these soldiers, for example by being accepted into the Korean Workers' Party or being allowed to move to Pyongyang, the capital and showcase of the DPRK. Kang Min-jin, a fugitive who now runs a company that analyzes the North Korean economy, said that even relatives of soldiers who will be sent to Russia will receive benefits, such as nice housing or admission to a good university.
Choi Jun-hoon, a former senior lieutenant in the North Korean army, said serving on foreign soil is also attractive to many people who are simply eager to go abroad and see another country for the first time in their lives. North Koreans are not allowed to read news from foreign sources and cannot move from one area of the country to another without permission.
As for Kim, he probably hopes that in exchange for providing the military contingent, he will receive help from Russia to improve its missile and nuclear capabilities, which would strengthen his country's defenses.