According to the ISW team, the number of soldiers from North Korea fighting against Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation may soon increase dramatically.
Points of attention
- According to ISW, the training of thousands of North Korean soldiers on the territory of Russia may indicate their possible involvement in the war against Ukraine.
- The deployment of North Korean forces can help Russia participate in priority offensive operations.
- Experts warn of more intensive participation of the DPRK in the war against Ukraine.
The Russian Federation wants to bombard the battlefield with North Korean "cannon fodder"
According to representatives of the DPRK and Ukraine, North Korean soldiers are already operating together with the Russian invaders in Ukraine.
An insider of journalists in Ukrainian intelligence clarified that some North Korean officers are watching Russian troops and studying the battlefield in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
Despite this, Ukraine has not yet seen North Korean units operating on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian official added that "several thousand" North Korean infantrymen are undergoing training on Russian territory, and that the Russian military command may transfer them to the front line in Ukraine by the end of 2024 or to the border regions of Russia to free up Russian "reserves" for combat. actions on the territory of Ukraine, — notes the American Institute for the Study of War.
Russia is increasingly actively involving the DPRK in the war against Ukraine
Foreign analysts also assumed that the North Korean military is currently operating in the occupied Donetsk region.
So far, experts have not been able to find out the extent of the North Korean grouping of troops that Russia can deploy on the front line or transfer to the Kursk region.
But these scenarios could also contribute to Russia's efforts to attract additional forces to priority offensive operations in Ukraine and continue the culmination of the Russian offensive operation that began in the summer of 2024, ISW writes.
According to analysts, the deployment of North Korean forces by the aggressor country of the Russian Federation may create opportunities for their use in Ukraine, depending on the quality, structure, placement and operational interoperability of the North Korean troops.
