A blurry photo, which appears to show North Korean and Russian flags flying in tandem along Ukrainian territory, has sparked global outrage.
Confirmation of such an image would suggest that North Korea’s Pyongyang troops have been sent to the Ukrainian frontline, which would be the first time a third party engaged with Russian and Ukrainian troops on the ground since the war began in February 2022.
The threatening move from Kim Jong Un’s troops could spark further escalation in the conflict, with Western leaders raising concerns about Pyongyang’s involvement.
Footage shared online allegedly depicts battlefield equipment being handed to Kim’s soldiers, while other videos show North Korean troops taking pictures in Moscow.
Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the presence of North Korean troops in the region
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Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the presence of North Korean troops in the region.
However, North Korea has acted as a consistent ally of Putin’s Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.
Back in June, the two nations signed a mutual defence agreement, which committed the countries would help one another if faced with external aggression.
While US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea had supplied troops to Russia, it was further speculated that the troops could be present along Ukrainian frontlines as well.
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Although the last time regular North Korean troops had been directly engaged in full-scale combat was during the Korean War over 70 years ago, South Korean intelligence has suggested that these new troops have been sourced from an elite army unit – the “Storm Corps”.
A senior fellow at South Korea’s Institute of National Security Strategy told the Financial Times: “These are not ordinary North Korean soldiers, most of whom are never given adequate combat training.
“These are well-equipped, highly trained mobile light infantry.”
The same intelligence has warned that North Korean authorities are seeking to isolate soldiers’ families in “unknown locations” so that they can be further controlled and tightly managed.
President Zelenskyy has said that the nation’s officers as well as technical personnel had been identified across Russian-occupied territories
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In response to the potential escalation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the nation’s officers, as well as technical personnel, had been identified across Russian-occupied territories.
North Korea is reportedly looking to deploy up to 10,000 troops by the end of 2024.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby estimated that approximately 3,000 soldiers had already been sent into eastern Russia during the first half of October.
Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus’ Putin-supporting President, last week dismissed claims that North Korean troops had been sent into the region.
However, Lukashenko admitted that if the speculation was confirmed, it would be a “step towards the escalation of the conflict”.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius added: “We don’t even know whether we are talking about 1,500 or 12,000, or which kind of soldiers are coming to Russia and to fight where and against.
“It’s a kind of escalation and it shows us a very important, a very important aspect. International conflicts are approaching very rapidly.”