North Korea Ukraine response

History suggests we should pay close attention to such official pronouncements – not just actions – in North Korea-Russia relations. 

Neither Trump nor Putin has much incentive to address the North Korea issue, but leaving it off the table risks putting the nail in the coffin of the U.N.'s nonproliferation efforts.

Pyongyang would seem to have little reason to send its own people to risk their lives in the Russia-Ukraine War. But these soldiers appear to be at the heart of the North Korea-Russia security partnership.

It is time to examine not only the effects and effectiveness of North Korean troops in combat, but the wider implications for international security and conflict management.

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.

Over the last year, the autocratic regimes in Moscow and Pyongyang have increasingly intertwined their fates via ever deepening commitments and greater escalation.

“In general, there is no public backing for South Korea’s deeper involvement in Ukraine. And this is common sense.”

With concern mounting over the 10,000 North Korean soldiers reportedly sent to Russia, North Korea's foreign minister went to Moscow while Russia's deputy foreign minister was in Beijing.

"North Korea has vowed to shoot down any additional unmanned aerial vehicles, while the South Korean military is expected to respond should any shells enter South Korean territory."

Given the potential impact on Korean Peninsula security, Seoul must tread cautiously before escalating its own involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

For North Korea’s military-industrial complex, collaboration with Russia creates a self-perpetuating cycle.

Pyongyang made the decision after concluding that Russia had gained the upper hand in its war with Ukraine.