Kim expects leverage for lending Putin his troops

North Korea’s leader wants cash, missile technology and food for letting thousands of his soldiers fight against Ukraine

- SHWETA SHARMA

It is clear what Vladimir Putin gains from thousands of North Korean troops joining Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine. But the motivation behind Kim Jong Un sending young and inexperienced soldiers into a battle that will enter its third winter this year is less apparent.

North Korean soldiers training to fight in Europe’s biggest conflict since the Second World War have stakeholders watching to see if the so-called “blood alliance” with Russia could become one of the most lucrative projects the reclusive country has ever pursued.

Thousands of North Korean soldiers are already training in Russia for combat with the Ukrainian army alongside the Russian president’s troops as the two most heavily sanctioned and isolated regimes step up their friendship to an unprecedented level.

South Korea, the US, and the UK have confirmed the presence of North Korean soldiers on Russian soil with most massing near the Kursk border of Ukraine where Mr Putin’s forces have faced some of the toughest battleground challenges from Kyiv.

The South Korean intelligence agency, which first raised the alarm over the troop deployment, has said at least 12,000 soldiers including generals and senior officials are in Russia now, and American intelligence said they could be fighting “within days”.

It would mark the first time that North Korea, which has one of the world’s largest militaries with 1.2 million soldiers, has put boots on the ground in an international conflict. North Korea has not fought a war since 1953 when the Korean war ended in an armistice but has been preparing for a renewed conflict with South Korea.