North Korean troops deployed to Russian military units as 'cannon fodder,' says South's defense chief

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North Korean troops deployed to Russian military units as 'cannon fodder,' says South's defense chief

Published: 28 Nov. 2024, 17:37

SEO JI-EUN
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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A screen capture shows soldiers, believed to be North Koreans, receiving basic supplies at a Russian training base on Oct. 19 in a video provided by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, also known as Spravdi. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun confirmed Thursday that North Korean troops are participating in Russia's war on Ukraine, assigned to Russian military units for use as "cannon fodder."

Speaking at the National Assembly's Defense Committee, Kim addressed questions from People Power Party Rep. Yoo Yong-won, who cited intelligence indicating North Korean soldiers are being deployed as one platoon per Russian company.

Kim confirmed the information, replying, "That is our current understanding."

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun responds to lawmakers' questions during a session of the Defense Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Kim highlighted the significance of this mixed deployment, stating that Russian forces are leading the war while North Korean troops are likely assigned to the most perilous combat zones.

"The term 'cannon fodder' is an appropriate description," he added.

International observers have also raised concerns over the involvement of North Korean forces.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's permanent representative to the United Nations, said during a UN Security Council meeting last month that North Korean soldiers, disguised in Russian military uniforms, were being integrated into ethnic minority units within the Russian military.

Kim said that the potential deployment of South Korean military observers to Ukraine was being handled by the National Intelligence Agency, not the Defense Ministry, suggesting ongoing discussions at the broader government level.

Regarding providing weapons to Ukraine, the defense minister remained cautious, emphasizing the country's alignment with international efforts.

On Wednesday, North Korea's permanent representative to the UN, Kim Song, indirectly acknowledged the troop deployment during a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

Kim Song, North Korea's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Responding to a direct question from Robert Wood, the U.S. alternate representative to the UN, about whether North Korea has sent troops to Russia, Kim Song avoided a direct answer.

Instead, he said, "The treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between the DPRK and the Russian Federation fully conforms to international law and the UN Charter," referring to North Korea to its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He added that North Korea "remains faithful to its obligations under that treaty," a remark widely interpreted as an indirect admission of troop deployment.

This stance aligns with a statement made on Oct. 25 by Kim Jong-gyu, North Korea's vice foreign minister in charge of Russian affairs, who said, "If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law."

Following Kim Song's remarks, Ukraine's UN envoy Kyslytsya criticized the North Korean envoy's remarks, calling them "pulp fiction." Addressing Kim directly, Kyslytsya accused him of "representing a criminal regime" aiding another "criminal regime" and warned that both North Korean and Russian leaders "will end up in the dock."

South Korea's UN ambassador, Hwang Joon-kook, joined the condemnation, urging the international community to "stand united in condemning such collusion and calling for an immediate halt to the illegal cooperation."

"We are witnessing an ominous collusion," Hwang said. "A Permanent Member of the UN Security Council with top-tier military technology and a lowered nuclear threshold is collaborating with an impoverished and isolated regime, notorious for brutally oppressing its own people."

Hwang further criticized North Korea's leader for "sending soldiers into distant battlefields to be used in Russia's reckless tactics while siphoning off their salaries to fund illegal WMD development."

He warned that such unchecked collusion "could profoundly shake the foundation of the international order based on the UN Charter."

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]