Experts say Pyongyang could be using Ukraine as a means of realigning foreign policy.
By sending soldiers, North Korea is positioning itself within the Russian war economy as a supplier of weapons, military support and labour – potentially bypassing its traditional ally, neighbour and main trading partner, China, according to analysts.
Russia can also provide North Korea access to its vast natural resources, such as oil and gas, they say.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow and said her country would “stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day”.
She called Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine a “sacred struggle” and said Pyongyang believed in Putin’s “wise leadership”.
North Korea and Russia are under rafts of UN sanctions – Kim for his nuclear weapons program, and Moscow for the Ukraine war.
When asked publicly about the deployment of North Korean troops last month, Putin deflected the question to criticise the West’s support of Ukraine.
North Korea said last month that any troop deployment to Russia would be “an act conforming with the regulations of international law”, but stopped short of confirming that it had sent soldiers.
North Korea’s deployment of troops has led to a shift in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kyiv, but recently indicated it might change its longstanding policy.
