North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on February 8 vowed to maintain his country’s support for Russia in its war against Ukraine and threatened to bolster his nuclear forces to counter U.S. military cooperation with Japan and South Korea in the region. “The army and people of [North Korea] will invariably support and encourage the just cause of the Russian Army and people to defend their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity in keeping with the spirit of the treaty on the comprehensive strategic partnership between [North Korea] and Russia,” Kim was quoted by state media as saying.
Western leaders and Ukrainian officials say North Korea has since last fall sent an estimated 11,000 troops to fight alongside of Kremlin troops, mainly in the Russian region of Kursk. Their current status is uncertain, with some intelligence sources saying many of the troops have been rotated out of the front lines after suffering horrific losses in fighting against Ukrainian forces. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 8 said Russia’s “cooperation with North Korea will continue to expand.”
Zelenskyy has publicly accused Russia and North Korea of trying to cover up evidence of the deployments by issuing fake papers to North Korean soldiers identifying them as Russian citizens. The Kremlin and Pyongyang have not commented directly on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia or the reported high losses. Kim, speaking at the Defense Ministry to mark the country’s Army Day, also threatened to build up his nuclear forces and use other “countermeasures” as he blasted the military cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan. Pyongyang “does not want unnecessary tension of the regional situation but will take sustained countermeasures to ensure the regional military balance,” Kim said.
Kim said U.S. involvement in the region — including deployment of nuclear assets, war maneuvers, and ties to the Japanese and South Korean militaries — would lead to a military imbalance in the region and endanger the security situation, state-run KCNA reported. The report said Kim “clarified once again the unshakable policy of more highly developing the nuclear forces” after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on February 7 and expressed concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program. North Korean state media assailed South Korea’s recent military activity with the United States and warned that any aggressive action would be met forcefully. “Anyone could easily guess how we would take the fact that they carried out war exercises that were more intense than ever before at a time when diplomacy schedules were being canceled due to political turmoil,” KCNA said.
