The South Korean government has assessed that North Korea’s third troop deployment to Russia appears to serve multiple strategic purposes beyond economic objectives.
On Thursday, an official of South Korea’s Ministry of Unification stated in a meeting with reporters that since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, North Korea’s dependence on Russia has been increasing. Furthermore, it appears that there is an intention to deepen this relationship, aiming for a stronger alliance between North Korea and Russia.
The official also noted that, from an economic standpoint, given the current challenges in sending workers to China, North Korea may look to increase its labor deployments to Russia in the future.
Previously, on Tuesday, Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, announced to Russian media after meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, that North Korea had agreed to send an additional 6,000 personnel to Russia. This includes 1,000 combat engineers and 5,000 construction workers. These individuals are expected to be primarily deployed for reconstruction efforts in the Kursk region.
Unlike Russia, North Korea has not informed its citizens about the troop deployment.
Regarding this, the official commented that Russia’s public announcement of the additional deployment appears to be a mutually agreed-upon decision aimed at securing the concessions North Korea desires. Further, conversely, North Korea likely refrained from announcing due to concerns about domestic public opinion.
According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), North Korea initially deployed approximately 12,000 combat troops to Russia in October last year, followed by an additional deployment of over 3,000 soldiers between January and February of this year.