Are North Korean Troops Heading to Ukraine? New Military Movements Suggest Possibilities

North Korean military officers responsible for the nation’s military education are set to visit Russia. This trip marks the first since last month when North Korea and Russia promised a cooperative relationship akin to a military alliance.

On the 9th, Reuters reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency, “The president of the Kim Il Sung Military University, Kim Kum Chol, was leading the delegation of military training officials and departed by plane on Monday.”

Details such as the full list of delegation members, aside from Kim Kum Chol, as well as the purpose, exact location, and duration of the visit, remain undisclosed.

Kim Il Sung Military University, where delegation leader Kim serves as president, is a premier military training institution that develops elite officers. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to have acquired military knowledge at this university following his studies in Switzerland.

On the 19th of last month, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea, North Korea and Russia signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement. After that, the possibility of deploying the North Korean troops to the Ukrainian battlefield is raised. The agreement includes a commitment to provide military and other aid by all means necessary in emergencies.

Concerns about deployment reared their head as high-ranking North Korean military officials visited Russia for the first time since the treaty. The fact that this is the first ‘military’ cooperation despite several mutual visits between North Korea and Russia in the past has also heightened concerns.

Meanwhile, on the 6th, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Putin had requested troop deployment from Kim Jong Un, citing a source familiar with North Korean-Russian relations. The Yomiuri added that Kim did not answer this request definitively.