Previously: One True Korea to Become a Military Superpower and Defend International Justice with Russia
You can’t believe anything these people say, but this seems like it would be true.
I would think that at the big friendship meeting Kim had with Putin, he would have asked to deploy some of his troops. Aside from the gesture, you want your troops to have real combat experience.
There’s no reason Putin would deny Kim this opportunity, given that every Western country has troops fighting on the Ukraine side.
From The Guardian, a paper that is both pro-Ukraine and pro-Palestine, somehow:
North Korean military engineers have been deployed to help Russia target Ukraine with ballistic missiles, and North Koreans operating in occupied areas of Ukraine have already been killed, senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul said.
There are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in teams that “support launcher systems for KN-23 missiles”, a source in Ukraine told the Guardian.
Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, last year travelled to Russia for a summit with Vladimir Putin where the two men bolstered their deepening ties with a secret arms deal.
Pyongyang’s ammunition shipments were vital in allowing Russian forces to advance in a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine this summer. But it appears increasingly clear that the agreement went beyond supplying materiel.
That’s not actually clear. There is actually no proof at all, beyond official claims from enemy governments.
The Guardian just prints press releases from the Ukraine as if they are the Word of God. (Remember when they said Russia was shelling its own nuclear power plant?)
But okay.
North Koreans were among the dead after a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-occupied territory near Donetsk last week, South Korean and Ukrainian officials said. It was not clear if they were military engineers or other forces.
Foreigners have fought as mercenaries for Russia, but if North Koreans are on the ground it would mark the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform to support Moscow’s war.
South Korea’s defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told MPs in Seoul this week that it was “highly likely” that North Korean officers had been deployed to fight alongside Russians, and several had died in the attack, although he did not give further details.
(Or offer evidence of the claim.)
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said in a post on Telegram that some North Koreans had been killed in Russia. His organisation is part of the national security and defence council.
…
Kim described Putin as his “closest comrade” in a birthday message sent this week, and Putin made a state visit to North Korea in June during which the leaders signed a mutual aid agreement.
You don’t want to believe this, because of who’s saying it and the fact they are not even claiming to have evidence to support the claim.
However, you want to believe it, because Russia-Korea friendship is awesome and fun.
North Korea’s army says it’s completely cutting off roads and railways linked to South Korea, state media reported. pic.twitter.com/jdYDU6Vdyy
— DW News (@dwnews) October 10, 2024