Opinion | North Korean intervention in Ukraine is the last thing the world needs

Last week, South Korea and Ukraine accused North Korea of deploying troops to support Russia in its war in Ukraine. North Korea denies doing so. This week, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said there was “evidence” of North Korean troops in Russia, but that what they are doing there “is left to be seen”.

Pyongyang sending troops to fight in Ukraine would signal North Korea’s evolution from an isolated pariah state to a tangible threat to international security – one that can directly influence conflicts thousands of miles away from the Korean peninsula and potentially reshape global security.

The evidence of North Korea’s military intervention is mounting. Last week, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Russian naval vessels were transporting North Korean special forces units and that the troops were being stationed in Russia’s Far East. It also said North Korean military officers had visited a missile launch site near the Russia-Ukraine war front in August.

Ukraine released a video which appears to show North Korean soldiers receiving uniforms in Russia. While the video could not be independently verified, Korean speech is audible in the background.

These developments seem to corroborate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s earlier statement that over 10,000 North Korean troops were preparing to join Russian forces and previous Ukrainian media reports stating that six North Korean officers had been killed in a Ukrainian missile attack near Donetsk on October 3.

If, as South Korea’s intelligence service says, around 1,500 North Korean soldiers are already in Vladivostok, it is clear that the mutual defence pact signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June was much more than bravado. While there have been reports of shipments of North Korean weapons for Russian use in Ukraine for more than a year, sending soldiers to fight on the ground would cross a critical red line.