The figures vary depending on the sources, as Libération indicates, but the soldiers sent by Kim Jong-un to support Russia's endless assaults in Ukraine would be several handfuls of thousands, between 8,000 and 12,000.
Enough, on the battlefield, and particularly in the Donbass where it is suffering, to put kyiv in an even more delicate position, while its own mobilization struggles to supply its armies with fresh and trained troops for combat.
200 million dollars, 700,000 tons of rice and space technology
Importantly, following the supply of drones and missiles by Iran, or the suspicion that China is producing, under cover, drones for Moscow, the agreement between Russia and North Korea is not well certainly not free for the premiere, which moreover could attract the ire of South Korea.
According to The Korea Herald, which cites sources within Seoul's military intelligence, these thousands of soldiers, who will undoubtedly be followed by others by the end of the year, are thus sent to the Ukrainian front for a sum of 200 million dollars, but also against the assurance that Russia will send Pyongyang 700,000 tonnes of rice, as well as space technologies.
Four-legged companions of Ukrainian soldiers
This last point is undoubtedly the most worrying for the part of the world which considers North Korea to be a dangerous nation, starting with its near-neighbor Japan: it could help Kim Jong-un to greatly accelerate his ballistic missile program.
According to a think tank cited by the South Korean daily, the Institute for National Security Strategy, Kim Jong-un would bet on the election of Donald Trump as American president, which could put an end to state support -United with Ukraine, and lead to a clear victory for Russia, in whose wake North Korea would therefore place itself.
The 700,000 tonnes of rice promised by Moscow would undoubtedly help North Korea escape (in part) the serious food crises that it regularly experiences (Le Monde), while the 200 million annual dollars cited by the Korea Herald represent the 2,000 monthly dollars promised to each Pyongyang fighter, immediately reinjected into the country's economy.
Pre-emptive strikes on North Korean troops based in Russia?
In a bad military situation, and particularly in the East where Russia continues its slow and costly territorial advances, as The War Zone explains, kyiv seems to feel helpless in the face of this influx of North Korean soldiers. Seeming relatively well equipped (Business Insider), they have already been used in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has made a breakthrough, as reported by Newsweek.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky relies on his allies, particularly the United States. As reported by Business Insider, lifting all restrictions on long-range strikes on Russian territory, with the weapons entrusted by Western countries, could allow Ukraine to target numerous Russian bases, including those where the North Korean soldiers waiting to be sent to the front.
In addition, the sending of North Korean troops to Ukraine, under the command of a Russia which we know treats its soldiers like cannon fodder, could perhaps ultimately weaken the Kim Jong-ong regime. one, as Jeffrey Robertson explains for Asia Times, who does not hesitate, probably a little too far in advance, to speculate on a potential coup d'état in North Korea if the Ukrainian adventure of Pyongyang's soldiers turns into a butcher's shop.
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