Recently, with the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has become increasingly tense, and the attention of the outside world to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has temporarily cooled down. Perhaps to seek assistance from NATO countries, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky recently disclosed a major news, which immediately triggered intensive attention and tracking by the global media.
On the 13th local time, Zelensky released a video speech on social media, during which he said that the DPRK-Russia alliance is getting stronger and stronger, and North Korea not only provides weapons to Russia, but also has sent regular troops to Russia to enter the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield to participate in the war.
Rumors about North Korea sending troops to participate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have been widely spread since October, starting with Ukraine media reports that Ukrainian missiles attacked Russian troops on the Donetsk front, and more than 20 people died on the Russian side, including 6 North Korean soldiers.
This time Zelensky revealed that in addition to the North Korean soldiers who fought on the front line, there are also North Korean laborers serving the Russian army in Russia factories.
At the same time, Korea's intelligence agency also said that North Korea has recently decided to send special forces to assist the Russian army in combat, with a total strength of 4 brigades and about 12,000 people.
In a short period of time, such a series of news suddenly appeared, and it was confirmed by the intelligence agencies of Ukraine and Korea, it seems that the North Korean army entered Russia to participate in the war, and it has been set in stone.
In fact, as early as last year, Korea's intelligence agencies released information claiming that North Korea was providing weapons and ammunition support to Russia, and showed satellite photos of North Korean trains frequently entering Russia.
Although the Russia side "refuted the rumors" for the first time, in the past year, there have been countless pictures and videos of North Korean ammunition on the Russian-Ukrainian front, and even the Russian army has used some heavy weapons from North Korea.
Ukraine has repeatedly found that the Russian army uses the North Korean version of the Iskander missile, and photos of the wreckage of this missile are also circulating on the Internet, and the new anti-tank missile launcher announced by North Korea in recent years also appeared on the Donbas front line at the end of last year.
It can be seen from this that North Korea's military assistance to Russia is indeed a matter, and as for the direct sending of troops to the war this time, there are two main possibilities.
First, it is a complete rumor, Zelensky exaggerated that North Korea sent troops to the war, it is entirely possible that it is for the purpose of provoking panic in European countries, after all, the threat level of North Korea is even greater than that of Russia in the eyes of Western countries, and it is up to United States to certify him as a so-called "terrorist state". If North Korea really sends troops to Europe to participate in the war, then this will inevitably give people the impression that Russia and North Korea have formed a military offensive and defensive alliance, and NATO needs to consider adjusting its strategy.
In this way, Zelensky will have even more excuses to seek assistance.
And such rumors are especially easy to create, because there are already Buryats, a Northeast Asian race, among Russia.
After the start of partial mobilization in 2022, a large number of Russia from Siberia and the Far East were drafted into the army and went to fight on the Russian-Ukrainian front, so Asian faces are not uncommon among the Russian army on the front.
If Ukraine wants to spread rumors, it only needs to claim that these soldiers are so-called "North Korean volunteers".
Another possibility, like the reason for North Korea's military aid to Russia, is a fact that cannot be put on the table, and it is indeed possible to say that North Korea will directly send troops to the war.
After all, Ukraine has already invaded Russia before, which is in line with the content of the Russian-North Korean Strategic Partnership Treaty that "in the event that a contracting party is attacked by force by a certain country, the other party may use all means to provide military or other assistance to the former".
If the DPRK really sends troops to participate in the war, as long as the scope of the operation is limited to the Kursk region, it will be a normal performance of the treaty.
The situation on the peninsula has been highly tense in the past year, and the possibility of war is increasing, and since the end of the Korean War, the Korean People's Army has not conducted any actual combat for more than 70 years, and its conventional combat capability has been questioned due to the long-term backwardness of military technology.
As the world's largest and most tactically guided regional conflict, the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is a potential "training ground" for North Korea, and in order to prepare for a potential second Korean War in the future, North Korea sending troops to Russia itself can also play a role in military training.
Overall, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict becomes more protracted, it is clear that more and more countries will be involved or indirectly involved in this conflict in the future. There is North Korea on Russia's side, and there will naturally be so-called "mercenaries" sent by NATO countries on Ukraine's side, and this regional conflict has a tendency to develop in the direction of regional proxy wars.