Flashpoints

Will Casualties in Ukraine Lead to Change in North Korea?

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Flashpoints | Politics | East Asia

Will Casualties in Ukraine Lead to Change in North Korea?

The unprecedented loss of life in a foreign conflict means that the war in Ukraine could be the Kim regime’s most significant test since the 1990s famine.

Will Casualties in Ukraine Lead to Change in North Korea?

This still image from a video posted on X by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows what Ukraine says is an injured North Korea soldier capturef on the battlefield in Kursk.

Credit: Screenshot from video posted on X/ Volodymyr Zelenskyy

In early November 2024, rumors of troop deployments to Russia started spreading among the residents of the North Korean city of Hyesan, on the border with China. Families feared that their own sons would have to fight in Ukraine, but without any official news from Pyongyang, they could not verify the claims. In a few days, the rumors spread from Hyesan to other regions through local merchants’ trade networks and border officials.

The rumors proved to be correct.

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