In June Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a military pact similar to NATO’s Article 5.
Under the military pact both Moscow and Pyongyang will “provide military and other assistance without delay by all means at its disposal.”
North Korea has sent their elite military personnel as part of the agreed military cooperation.
There are fears amongst the West that Jong Un could escalate the war by sending units of troops to fight in Ukraine.
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On 19 June Putin and Jong Un signed a defence pact which reads, “In case any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay.”
The military delegation is being led by Kim Geum Chol, who is the rector of the Kim I1 Sung Military University.
North Korea’s KCNA news agency said that the soldiers have now arrived in Russia, but their purpose of being in Russia will remain secret.
Citing unnamed sources, South Korean TC Chosun said that North Korea are to also send engineering troop to occupied areas in Donetsk, who will help with reconstruction.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Russia and North Korea’s cooperation is a “distinct threat and a grave challenge to the peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in Europe.”
A spokesman for the Pentagon Pat Ryder told journalists last month, “I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine.
Last September Jong Un told reporters that Russia is “waging a sacred fight to defend its sovereignty,” they will protect its “security interests” to promote “justice against the hegemonists,” making reference to Washington.
The North Korean dictator added, “We have always expressed full and unconditional support for the actions taken by the Russian government.
“I take this opportunity to affirm that we will always stand with Russia on the anti-imperialist front.”
