North Korea has recently ordered North Korean trading companies in Russia to pick personnel to go to Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine to participate in reconstruction efforts.
According to a source in Russia, North Korea sent the order to various trading companies on January 20, including Cholhyon Construction, associated with the defense ministry, and Kumrung Construction, affiliated with General Bureau 7 of the Ministry of Social Security.
North Korea To Help Reconstruction Russian-Occupied Territory
Given that all of the trade businesses that got the order are linked with military or public security services, it indicates that North Korea has no intention of sending people to eastern Ukraine but rather troops or police officers.
Per NK Daily, the government made this decision because troops and public security officers are simpler to manage and protect than people. The servicemen selected for deployment to Ukraine are young men aged 19 to 27, most of whom are married but have abandoned their families in North Korea.
In general, North Korean authorities deter defections by dispatching married men who are compelled to leave their wives and children behind in North Korea. North Korea instructed enterprises to finalize personnel selections by the end of January, as per NK Daily News.
North Korea would likely deploy the troops to Ukraine in mid-February or March, based on account of a source, since the corporations were given around ten days to make their picks. Because North Korean military and police-related agencies across Russia have been told to choose troops, it is uncertain how many North Korean soldiers will be sent to eastern Ukraine.
Considering all orders granted to big trade organizations, the initial batch would likely consist of 300 to 500 personnel, according to the source. The instructions did not specify what duties the men would do in eastern Ukraine, although it is unlikely that they would act as mercenaries in the conflict.
The basic agreement between North Korea and Russia contains stipulations prohibiting the participation of North Koreans in the actual fight since their involvement might give the impression that Pyongyang has dispatched mercenaries to Russia.
The selected employees will likely participate in rehabilitation operations, rehabilitating war-ravaged structures and roadways. North Korea has covertly picked two groups of employees to deploy to Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine but has delayed sending them owing to the present state of the war.
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Kim Jong Un Accused of Supporting Vladimir Putin
Meanwhile, Russia's search for weapons to fire at Ukraine might be a lifeline for North Korea, where even a relatively small arms transaction would assist in boosting the cash-strapped and stagnating economy. This month, the United States raised new allegations that Kim Jong Un is contributing weapons and ammunition to support Putin's conflict, including the shipment of shells and rockets.
While the Biden administration has stated that the weapons will not significantly impact the battlefield, the sales would provide a new funding source for a government that is mainly cut off from international trade.
While North Korea has disputed US suspicions of weapons deliveries, Kim would benefit from such a pact. His border bans during the pandemic caused North Korea's already sluggish economy to experience one of its most severe declines in decades, as per Business Mirror.
North Korea's economy failed to develop in 2021 and faced unclear prospects, according to the Bank of Korea in Seoul, one of the few bodies that regularly review the country's economic future. As a result of the demise of the digital asset exchange FTX, Kim's ostensibly profitable explorations into crypto-currency theft may now need to be revised.
Kim possesses many weapons, particularly the primitive 20th-century artillery that is seeing a resurgence on the front lines of Ukraine. The International Institute for Strategic Studies believes North Korea has an arsenal of more than 21,600 artillery pieces, a power that has put Seoul under the threat of destruction comparable to Mariupol for decades.
According to Daily Mail, NATO expressed alarm over a nuclear alliance between Russia, China, and North Korea that would "threaten the international order."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that a Russian triumph in Ukraine might empower China to invade Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
The NATO commander made these remarks during a trip to Japan, where he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to enhance relations with the West in the face of mounting security concerns about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its expanding military collaboration with China.
The leaders also expressed worry about Russia's nuclear threats, Russia and China's combined military exercises near Japan, and North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.
It follows Russia's warning yesterday that it is "on the verge of a direct collision with the United States and NATO" and that it is "very possible" that there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with the United States after 2026 due to Washington's attempts to inflict "strategic defeat" on Moscow in Ukraine.
During a weekend visit to South Korea, Stoltenberg issued similar warnings about escalating tensions with China. Here, he encouraged Seoul to extend its military assistance to Ukraine. While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization comprises 30 European and North American nations, Stoltenberg has stated that its members face global dangers.
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