Although the war in Ukraine has long required the use of a greater number of assets than the Kremlin had imagined in February 2022, now the Russia is going to send to North Korea an as yet unspecified number of combat aircraft, although considered fourth generation in terms of technology and performance, i.e. not up to what is needed against Kiev’s defenses. The admiral said it a few days ago Samuel Paparohead of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, during Reagan National Defense Forum held last week, when the senior officer spoke of a document sent from Moscow to Pyongyang intercepted by US intelligence which mentions a supply of MiG-29 And Sukhoi 27as part of the exchange to deploy 12,000 North Korean soldiers to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces. What accelerated the timing of this provision would have been the institutional crisis that occurred in South Koreawhere the president Yoon Suk Yeol he passed the impeachment vote for his declaration of martial law, which was rescinded after a few dozen hours, which some analysts are describing as a failed coup.
Yoonmeanwhile, had issued an apology four days after rescinding his declaration of martial law and 48 hours after sacking the defense minister Kim Yong Hyun. But the affair has undoubtedly influenced regional security by openly demonstrating too much political uncertainty and, consequently, little security and stability for a nation that represents the limit to the warmongering follies of Kim Jong Unalways ready to launch demonstration missiles to remind East Asia of its presence. The possible delivery of aircraft to North Korea it would make it necessary for Seoul to strengthen its defenses, and for the US to modify the deployment of defenses in the area by taking resources away from those strategically positioned in order to help Taiwan.
And despite what the Republican representative from California said Ken Calvertwho heads the House Appropriations Committee’s defense committee, said he would not speculate on how the next administration would address Taiwan policy, but said it was unlikely that Taiwan’s policy United States would have changed drastically, the words of Donald Trump who during the election campaign had said: “Taiwan should pay us for defense, we are no different from an insurance company.” The admiral PaparoHowever, when asked about the possibility of a change in policy on Taiwan, he responded that a conflict in the Pacific would have devastating effects on the US economy and therefore that the United States should strengthen its deterrence in the region, but do so without the full stability of Korea of the South would be very complicated and expensive. And regarding the “rebel province,” he refused to support a proposal to send Marines or other U.S. forces to Taipei, a policy change he said would be “provocative” and that “the real key to success is allowing Taiwan to be more effective.”
Thus the presence of Russian aircraft and instructor pilots to train their North Korean colleagues is not as much of a concern in the short term as it is in the medium-long term, starting with knowing how many MiG-29 And Su-27 smelling of obsolescence but still capable of striking, they will be sent from Moscow to Pyongyang. It is true that the actual efficiency of the old and truly obsolete MiG-17, Mig-19 and MiG-21, but also Su-25 bombers and Chinese Shenyang F-5, J-6 and J-7 fighters, in force with the very little is known about the North Korean air force, except that they were Chinese productions made under Soviet license and dating back to the seventies, while they would still be able to operate the approximately thirty MiG-29 supplied in the 1990s to the Korean People’s Army Air Force, aircraft however different in terms of systems and equipment compared to those that Moscow is sending. A force of little concern for Seoul, which has F-35s, F-16s and F-15Ks, flown by officers trained in the United States, provided that the South Korean Defense has a stable, active ruling class and an efficient Ministry of Defense . The move of Putin And Kim Jong Un However, it could constitute the beginning of a modernization of the North Korean army with the arrival of more advanced weapon systems and therefore worrying for the allies in the Indo-Pacific region, but also an opportunity for Moscow to export aircraft that it can no longer sell because they are too expensive for African and South American nations, but too old for the allied nations of Eastern Europe.
