“There is no doubt that (…) the Russian army and people will achieve a great victory” in Ukraine, declared Choe Son Hui, during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who he praised the “very close contacts (…) established between the military and the security services” of the two countries.
“We reaffirm that we will always stand firmly alongside our Russian comrades until the day of victory,” added the North Korean minister, according to a Russian translation of her remarks.
Russia and North Korea, who consider the United States an existential enemy, have grown considerably closer since Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine in February 2022, with the two countries having notably concluded a mutual defense agreement during the Russian president's June visit to Pyongyang.
North Korea has been suspected for many months of supplying large quantities of shells to Russia as well as hundreds of missiles. Now it would also provide thousands of troops to fight in the conflict with Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the arrival of these troops, but according to the West, they are about to be deployed on the battlefield, in the Russian region of Kursk where the Ukrainian army controls several hundreds of km2 since August.
North Korea is also suspected of asking in exchange for technologies that will help it strengthen its nuclear arsenal, in particular its ballistic missiles.
Citing American intelligence services, the head of diplomacy Antony Blinken indicated Thursday that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers who, according to Washington, entered Russia, up to 8,000 “were deployed in the Kursk region”.
“We have not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect that to happen in the coming days,” he added.
Russia has, he said, equipped North Korean soldiers with Russian uniforms and trained these troops in artillery, drones, basic infantry operations, including trench cleaning, “which indicates that it fully intends to use these forces in front-line operations.”
Such a deployment will constitute a new blow for Ukraine, which has seen the West procrastinating for months on the aid it requests.
On the ground, Ukraine, already lacking men and ammunition, is retreating on multiple sections of the front.
In October, the Russian army advanced by almost 500 km2 in Ukraine, the largest territorial gain in a month since March 2022 and the first weeks of the conflict.
– Western “zero” reaction –
And both Americans and Europeans are greatly preventing Ukraine from using the missiles they have delivered on targets on Russian territory, for fear of provoking an escalation by the Kremlin.
But for kyiv, it is the absence of Western firmness which encourages Vladimir Putin to escalate the conflict. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attacked the “zero” reaction of Westerners to the deployment of North Korean soldiers and the internationalization of the war.
The meeting between Sergei Lavrov and Choe Son Hui also comes a few days before the American presidential election, and at a time when North Korea is raising tensions with the firing of an intercontinental missile.
Ms. Choe also said in Moscow that her country “will in no way change the course of strengthening its nuclear arsenal.”
In this context, South Korea, a major arms exporter, has indicated that it is studying the possibility of sending weapons directly to Ukraine in response.
It was opposed until now due to a long-standing policy preventing it from supplying weapons in active conflicts.
