Sometime between October 8 and 13, seven ships from the Russian Pacific Fleet sailed from Chongjin, Hamhung and Musudan in North Korea, to Vladivostok, Russia. Aboard were 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers.
They’re the vanguard of an initial force of potentially 11,000 North Korean troops that’s set to reinforce Russia’s wider war on Ukraine. And they’re the latest and most chilling reminder that the war isn’t just between Russia and Ukraine.
The line has been crossed and third-party troops will soon be on the ground. Other nations on both sides may follow suit: such action has already been suggested by British and French politicians. It’s now a global war, potentially a world war. It’s clear Russian leaders, and their allies in Iran, North Korea and – to a lesser extent – China understand the stakes. It’s less clear that Ukraine’s allies in Nato understand it.
Those 1,500 North Korean commandos aren’t Pyongyang’s first contribution to Russia’s war effort. North Korea has also sold artillery ammunition, KN-23 ballistic missiles and anti-tank missile vehicles to Russia. Alongside Iran, North Korea is Russia’s industrial backer – and the main reason the Russian armed forces haven’t already run out of critical equipment as their wider war grinds into its 32nd costly month.
Sometime between October 8 and 13, seven ships from the Russian Pacific Fleet sailed from Chongjin, Hamhung and Musudan in North Korea, to Vladivostok, Russia. Aboard were 1,500 North Korean special forces soldiers.
They’re the vanguard of an initial force of potentially 11,000 North Korean troops that’s set to reinforce Russia’s wider war on Ukraine. And they’re the latest and most chilling reminder that the war isn’t just between Russia and Ukraine.
The line has been crossed and third-party troops will soon be on the ground. Other nations on both sides may follow suit: such action has already been suggested by British and French politicians. It’s now a global war, potentially a world war. It’s clear Russian leaders, and their allies in Iran, North Korea and – to a lesser extent – China understand the stakes. It’s less clear that Ukraine’s allies in Nato understand it.
Those 1,500 North Korean commandos aren’t Pyongyang’s first contribution to Russia’s war effort. North Korea has also sold artillery ammunition, KN-23 ballistic missiles and anti-tank missile vehicles to Russia. Alongside Iran, North Korea is Russia’s industrial backer – and the main reason the Russian armed forces haven’t already run out of critical equipment as their wider war grinds into its 32nd costly month.