[Displayment of Russia, China, and North Korea’s flag. Photo Credit to Pxhere]

Last August, North Korea supplied Russia with military equipment, including 2mm/152mm artillery shells, anti-tank missile ‘Phoenix-4’, KN-23 missile, and others.

This development raised multiple concerns among Western nations, as this situation highlighted the ineffectiveness of sanctions against North Korea and increased the possibility of the expansion of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Despite these concerns, the amount of cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has expanded in a few months, and the situation has worsened until its peak where peaceful resolutions can no longer be utilized.

On October 18th, it was officially confirmed by Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) has started its progress of sending its military troops to Russia.

North Korea’s special unit of 1,500 agents was first transferred to Russia’s Vladivostok from CheongJin and Hamhung, and the second transfer operation of approximately 10,000 agents is expected to start soon.

These North Korean soldiers were issued Russian military uniforms, Russian-made weapons, and counterfeit ID cards of the residents of the Yakutia and Buratiya regions of Siberia, who had similar appearances to North Koreans.

Both the Governments of Russia and North Korea tend to strongly deny the fact that the North Korean Military was deployed to the battlefield.

The Kremlin immediately responded to persistent news reports discussing North Korea’s involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, dismissing them as the spreading of“Fake news.”

Following Pyongyang and Moscow’s strong denial of the issue, foreign newspapers and governmental officials started to address its opinion.

The British Newspaper “The Guardian” published an article expressing concern, stating that “News that Pyongyang has sent 3,000 troops to train to fight in the war has horrified Ukraine, the US and Europe.”

America’s cable network CNN reported that the United States government is consistently making efforts to persuade China to pressure North Korea by utilizing its diplomatic channels.

In South Korea, political parties and the president’s office started to clarify their stance on this issue since legal complexities exist.

The president of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk-Yeol had a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy the president of Ukraine, and agreed to launch cooperation to respond to North Korea’s future actions.

President Zelenskyy announced plans to send a special envoy to South Korea for further collaboration.

President Yoon stated, “Our government is fully prepared to transparently share our information with international regulatory bodies, and we are looking forward to the active will exchange of information between Korea and Ukraine.”

The Korean government is not currently considering the dispatching of its military, but it appears to be preparing to send the Ministry of Defense’s war situation analysis team to collect information about North Korea’s weaponry system and interrogate the North Korean soldiers.

Nevertheless, the Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Byeong-ju asserted, "If the government sends troops to the battlefield in Ukraine without the consent of the National Assembly, the Democratic Party will take various legal measures, including the impeachment of the Minister of National Defense."

If the DPRK’s military deployment continues, diplomatic tensions between the Western world and Russia are likely to intensify, warranting close monitoring.