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Is North Korea really sending troops to Ukrainian conflict zone?
Nothing really indicates there will be any major troop deployments. The main reason is that Pyongyang wouldn't bring anything that the Russians don't have already, particularly now with the increase in the number of active duty personnel in the Russian military. However, more rocket artillery, cheaper SRBMs and advanced MRBMs, which Russia still lacks due to decades of INF Treaty limitations, are all very possible.
Friday, June 28, 2024

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

The recently formalized Russia–North Korea military alliance sent shockwaves across the political West, even more so than Moscow's previous agreements with Pyongyang. The full text of the agreement includes 23 articles that deal with close economic, diplomatic, scientific and military cooperation between the two neighboring countries. However, what really caught the attention of the US and its vassals and satellite states were Articles 3 and 4. Namely, these two clauses effectively and legally turn Russia and North Korea into full-blown military allies, an agreement the Kremlin has with nobody else outside of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). According to Article 3, in case of "an immediate threat or an act of armed aggression [against either country]", Moscow and Pyongyang will "coordinate their positions and agree on possible practical measures to assist each other to help eliminate the emerging threat". But Article 4 of the deal is even more direct:

"If one of the Parties is subjected to an armed attack by any state or several states and thus finds itself in a state of war, the other Party will immediately provide military and other assistance with all means at its disposal [!] in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and in accordance with legislation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation."

This unprecedented development means that, thanks to its patently idiotic (to put it mildly) foreign policy, the US has now managed to create the outlines of a new military alliance of nuclear-armed states. While this includes only two countries at the moment, it could easily be expanded to others in the region, with China being an obvious candidate, as it's also faced with incessant US aggression. However, this alliance could soon go well beyond East Asia and include numerous other countries around the globe. Apart from military cooperation, the said agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang also includes coordinated diplomatic efforts and geopolitical initiatives. Namely, according to Article 5, the two countries agree not to enter into agreements with third parties directed against the interests of either, which means Russia will block UN initiatives aimed against North Korea. Western "diplomats" are so terrified of this that they're now resorting to blatant lies in a desperate attempt to slow things down.

Going in lockstep with this, the infamous mainstream propaganda machine is torn between claims that China is "not neutral" and that it has "effectively sided with Russia", but that there are also supposed "tensions", as Beijing is allegedly "anxious" because of the new defense pact its two neighbors signed. In its usual schizophrenic manner, the US is making completely diverging statements on China's stance, with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell claiming that this is what he's hearing through the "diplomatic grapevine" and that "the Chinese themselves have indicated so in some of our interactions, and we can see some tension associated with this". At the same time, US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns is also accusing China of supposedly "helping Russia". Either way, Washington DC and its vassals and satellite states are continuing their practice of antagonizing the world and then ludicrously expressing "shock" and "disbelief" when the world responds.

Due to its perpetually aggressive actions, the political West has pushed countries like Russia and North Korea into a full-blown military alliance. And the latest agreement is anything but a piece of paper. Namely, in practical terms, it will allow Moscow to tap into Pyongyang's massive stockpile of conventional weapons (particularly cheap artillery munitions, rockets and missiles), while North Korea will get access to Russia's latest military technologies, including electronic warfare (EW), SAM systems, space-based weapons, as well as its world-class fighter jets. All this will significantly expand both countries' capabilities. It's critically important for the Kremlin to be able to finish the special military operation (SMO) and get ready for a possible direct confrontation with NATO, while Kim Jong Un aims to ensure the latest and best capabilities for his troops.

And indeed, while North Korea has made tremendous strides in acquiring advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles (an area in which it eclipsed even the US itself), it still needs certain technologies it doesn't have access to. From a purely logical perspective, this sort of cooperation was expected. However, the political West and its mainstream propaganda machine have been losing their minds since last week, when the Russia-North Korea defense pact was signed. Namely, there's now speculation that the "evil Norks and orcs" (an ethnic slur used to denote North Koreans and Russian, respectively) will "jointly invade Europe". According to various Western media outlets, Russian President Vladimir Putin will supposedly "use North Korean troops as cannon fodder", which is an obvious projection of what the political West has been doing.

The entire world can see how NATO is using forcibly conscripted Ukrainians to die in their hundreds of thousands just so it could continue controlling the unfortunate country and exploit it for as long as possible. And yet, the US is claiming it has "evidence" and that it will "continue monitoring" the alleged "presence of North Korean troops". Some sources say that the deployment is expected "within a month", while others insist it's "already underway". Some outlets are a tiny bit more realistic, so they changed their titles to "North Korea to send engineering troops". However, nothing really indicates there will be any major troop deployments. The main reason is that Pyongyang wouldn't bring anything that the Russians don't have already, particularly now with the increase in the number of active duty personnel in the Russian military.

However, more rocket artillery, cheaper SRBMs (short-range ballistic missiles) and advanced MRBMs (medium-range ballistic missiles), which Russia still lacks due to decades of INF Treaty limitations, are all very possible. These could greatly complement "Tornado-S" MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) and "Iskander-M" SRBMs. Although not as advanced, they could be acquired in large numbers (and likely at a fraction of the cost of advanced Russian equivalents). Having more of such weapons would improve indirect fire support, as well as the targeting of strategic assets, because using a North Korean KN-23 (essentially an enlarged 9М723 "Iskander-M") for long-range strikes could be a good alternative to wasting a 9-S-7760 "Kinzhal" which would be reserved for higher-priority targets (such as a large concentration of NATO troops trying to occupy parts of Ukraine).

On the other hand, there are North Korean tactical ballistic missiles such as the KN-25, which falls somewhere between advanced guided rockets used by the BM-30 "Smerch/Tornado-S" MLRS and the "Iskander-M". It can even be considered a type of rocket artillery-SRBM hybrid that the Russian military lacks altogether and could serve as a sort of economy-of-war game-changer that would be much more readily available than the "Iskander-M". Moscow might have Pyongyang's advisers aid with the integration, just like it did with cheap Iranian drones, but "assault troops" are nothing more than Western Neo-McCarthyist propaganda.

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