Kim warriors in Ukraine

Fighting for the Kremlin: Kim’s warriors in Ukraine

12,000 North Korean soldiers have deployed in the Kursk region.

(Bild: APA/AFP/KCNA VIA KNS/STR)

Russia is preparing to recapture parts of the Kursk region occupied by Ukraine. According to US intelligence, 50,000 Russian soldiers have been assembled in the region for this purpose. That alone is not remarkable. But the fact that 12,000 North Korean soldiers have also taken up positions there is.

These soldiers are wearing Russian uniforms and have been equipped by Moscow. The Pentagon assumes that they will intervene in combat operations. It is unclear how effective these soldiers are. North Korea does have a large army. But it has no combat experience. For military expert Colonel Markus Reisner, the deployment of North Korean soldiers is primarily symbolic: "Russia wants to show that it has the more effective allies. While Kiev has to beg for support, North Korea is sending three million artillery shells and now 12,000 soldiers for the second time in a row."

Ukraine assumes that Russia will have 700,000 soldiers deployed by the end of the year. In comparison, the impact of 12,000 North Koreans is small.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/ISW)

North Korea's army: is it going into battle for the Kremlin?

(Bild: AFP/Ed Jones)

North Korea's army lacks war experience
"The quality of the North Korean soldiers cannot yet be assessed either," says Reisner. "They may be in for a nasty surprise." North Korea's army has neither been involved in wars nor participated in international operations in recent decades. It also remains difficult to judge how North Korean society will react when coffins suddenly come home with sons and fathers.

The positive effect for dictator Kim Jong-un is that his army can gain experience and is battle-hardened in the event of war with South Korea. Seoul is also aware of this and is already considering openly supporting Ukraine.

For the Stalinist regime, it is a "cheap" way to obtain Russian technology. After all, this is exactly what the defense agreement between Russia and North Korea recently ratified by Vladimir Putin stipulates.

Alliance of outsiders: Kremlin leader Putin and North Korean dictator Kim

(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Gavriil GRIGOROV)

What remains interesting in terms of international law is whether the soldiers will continue to march into Ukraine if they succeed in expelling Ukraine from Russian territory. "If they march in with waving Korean flags and clearly identify themselves as a warring party, then it will indeed be interesting," says Reisner.

According to US intelligence, however, they are not wearing insignia identifying them as North Korean soldiers. Some experts fear that the entry of another warring party would be another step towards world war.