It is not known exactly how many North Korean soldiers are fighting in Ukraine alongside the Russians, at least 11,000 according to Kiev. However, it is certain that in the last two days the Ukrainian army fought North Korean troops for the first time, as the Defense Minister confirmed on Tuesday Rustem Umerov declaring that there had been “small-scale clashes”. Supporting the statement was that of Andriy Kovalenkohead of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, who on Monday confirmed that North Korean soldiers have already been engaged in Kursk Oblast. Asked about the meaning of the agreement between Vladimir Putin And Kim Jong Un, Kovalenko he replied: «North Korea has officially joined the war, we expect more clashes in the coming weeks, we know that Pyongyang has also sent 500 officers and three generals». Figures that agree with those of the Pentagon, whose officials can count on the detections of spy satellites. Kiev then warned that North Korean soldiers become legitimate military targets, while South Korean media reported that as many as 40 North Korean soldiers had already been killed.
We must remember that before men, Kim Jong Un sent a large quantity of weapons to Moscow, now estimated to be worth at least $1.8 million. But given that Moscow has enlisted and employs around 700,000 soldiers in the war, it is clear that even if the soldiers of Kim were more than what was estimated, the possibility that they could make a difference is almost nil. The North Korean intervention is foreseen by Article 4 of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two nations signed on 19 June, which states: «If one of the parties suffers an armed attack by one or more states and is therefore in a state of war, the other Party shall immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal.”
So far the facts and numbers have been reported, however some observations become appropriate. The North Koreans have never fought in any high-intensity conflict like the Russian-Ukrainian one, so they are inexperienced and face unfamiliar situations. Ukrainian Propaganda Shows North Korean Intervention Bigger Than It Is to Continue Trying to Get Consent to the Use of Long-Range Weapons from Western Nationswhile Pyongyang’s historic enemy, South Korea, seized the opportunity to obtain more support from the USA, also offering Kiev weapons and ammunition. Seoul’s concern is understandable: if from the pact between Russia and North Korea, the latter obtained military technologies and training methods more advanced than the current ones (Pyongyang today does not have an effective air force and navy), it would increase the possibility of invasion from the 38th parallel.
The United States, in the midst of the electoral campaign, had attempted to involve China without success, but Beijing – perhaps already well informed about US electoral forecasts – responded that it did not want to interfere in relations between Moscow and Pyongyang. Another factor concerns the further and real expansion of the conflict and the attitude of the European Union, who on the one hand wants to sell us what is happening as Putin’s last attempt to save the fate of the “special operation” put into crisis by sanctions, on the other hand, it declares itself worried about the North Korean intervention when, instead, various nations, including those belonging to the Atlantic Alliance, have allowed the sending of volunteers who, other than Asians, have only worn the Ukrainian uniform to be included in the International Legion.
They would be, as we have already reported in several articles, at least twenty thousand units according to Moscow, and would include Americans (Americans, Argentines, Chileans, etc.), but also Asians from the Philippines and Taiwan. And even these in numbers are too small to make a difference, in fact last week Ukraine declared its intention to enlist another 160,000 men. The blind position “until victory” of Brussels is now numbered, it is in fact impossible to argue that Moscow is isolated from the world when the 16th Summit of Nations Brics (October 22-24) just proved otherwise. And now the victory of Donald Trump will certainly focus the new US administration’s attention on the now 80 billion dollars in aid provided to Zelensky. With a difference compared to the presidency of Joe Bidenor that during his first term the president Trump had profitably met also Kim Jong Un.
