North Korea’s Suspicious Silence Over Troops in Ukraine—What’s Their Next Move?

North Korea maintained silence even after the South Korean government announced North Korea’s decision on large-scale deployment in the Ukrainian War for Russia. This is in stark contrast to its previous active responses to international claims that it supplied weapons to Russia.

Three days after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported the movement of North Korean troops to Russia, major North Korean media outlets still have not covered the news. The last report on the Ukraine war came from the North Korean media on October 12, which featured claims from a Russian military commander that Ukraine used chemical weapons. When it actively denied accusations of supplying weapons to Russia, it remained silent regarding the troop deployment.

Russia does not differ much from North Korea. While Russia dismissed as fake news regarding Ukrainian media’s suggestion on North Korean troop deployments earlier this month, it refrained from issuing any official response after the report from NIS.

Analysts suggest North Korea’s lack of response could indicate the strength of the evidence presented by the NIS, which might be too compelling for Pyongyang to refute. Acknowledging such a deployment would be problematic for the regime, as it could spark domestic unrest if it became known that North Korean soldiers were being sent to the battlefield as “cannon fodder.” This would likely add to concerns about morale and stability within the country.