South Korea’s SEOULThe South Korean military stated on Friday that it believes North Korea is planning to send more troops to Russia after suffering significant losses among its soldiers in the conflict in Ukraine.
In a report sent to reporters, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also concluded that North Korea is still working on testing an intercontinental ballistic missile that would be aimed at the United States.
The PresidentGiven that Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times during his first term, Pyongyang’s chances of engaging in high-level diplomacy with Washington may improve with his return to the White House. Numerous observers believe that Kim believes he may have more clout than he did during his 2018–19 summits with Trump because of his developing nuclear program and growing military cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition to sending around 10,000–12,000 personnel to Russia in October, North Korea has been providing Russia with a significant amount of artillery and other conventional weapons, according to intelligence from the United States, South Korea, and Ukraine. Washington, Seoul, and others are concerned that Russia would give North Korea advanced weapons technology that could advance its nuclear program in exchange.
Although North Korean soldiers are thought to be extremely well-trained and disciplined, they have been easily targeted by drone and artillery attacks due to their inexperience in combat and unfamiliarity with the mostly level plains that make up the majority of the Russian-Ukrainian war’s battlefields.
This month, South Korea’s spy agency reported that it estimated 2,700 North Korean soldiers had been wounded and 300 had died. Although U.S. estimates were lower at about 1,200, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the death toll or injuries to North Koreans at 4,000 earlier in January.
North Korea is reportedly speeding up plans to send more troops to Russia, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, however they did not explain how they arrived at that conclusion.
Kim may become more confident in his interactions with the United States and South Korea if North Korea and Russia strengthen their military ties. Kim promised to enact the strictest anti-US policies during a significant political conference last month. However, many analysts believe that if Kim believes the US president could compromise, he might eventually wish to meet with Trump for negotiations.
Following Trump’s rejection of Kim’s offer to demolish his primary nuclear complex—a limited disarmament step—in exchange for significant sanctions relief, their prior negotiations broke down. Since then, Kim has accelerated weapons testing to build up a nuclear missile arsenal aimed at South Korea and the United States.
There are worries in South Korea that Trump may abandon the goal of fully denuclearizing North Korea in favor of destroying its long-range missile program, which directly threatens the United States, while retaining the ability to launch nuclear strikes against South Korea.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Trump described Kim as intelligent and not a fanatic. When asked if he would contact Kim once again, Trump said, “Yeah, I will.”
On Monday, Trump boasted of his personal relationship with Kim and referred to North Korea as a nuclear nation. South Korea was upset because Washington, Seoul, and their allies have long refrained from calling North Korea a nuclear state for fear that doing so would be seen as endorsing its nuclear weapons program in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
I got along well with him. I was liked by him. During a press conference at the Oval Office following his inauguration, Trump stated, “I liked him.” He’s a nuclear power now. However, we got along. I believe he will be pleased to see me returning.
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha Gyu told reporters Tuesday that in order to achieve enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world, efforts to denuclearize North Korea must continue. Additionally, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry stated that it will work closely with the Trump administration to denuclearize North Korea.
Trump’s remarks have not received a response from North Korea. In addition to omitting any mention of the United States, South Korea, Russia, or other foreign policy concerns, a state media article released on Friday about the highly anticipated two-day parliament meeting in Pyongyang this week did not specify whether Kim participated.