North Korea ready to send 1,00,000 volunteers to assist Russia amid war in Ukraine: Report

While the Russia-Ukraine war is nearing the six-month point, North Korea has expressed willingness to send 1,00,000 soldiers for the assistance of its ally, Moscow. Russia’s military expert Igor Korotchenko said in a live panel discussion on Russian Channel One, “There are reports that 1,00,000 North Korean volunteers are prepared to come and take part in the conflict and North Korean builders are ready to work alongside ours [to repair war damage]”, according to the New York Post. 

He further referred to the North Korean troops as “resilient, undemanding and motivated”, adding that the Kremlin “shouldn’t be shy in accepting the hand extended to us by Kim Jong-un”, the supreme leader of North Korea. Korotchenko said, “If North Korean volunteers with their artillery systems, wealth of experience with counter-battery warfare and large calibre multi-launch rocket systems, made in North Korea want to participate in the conflict, well let’s give the green light to their volunteer impulse”.

He said that if “North Korea expresses a desire to meet its international duty to fight against Ukrainian fascism, we should let them” and added that both nations hold the sovereign right to sign the relevant agreements.

However, it still remains unclear how many troops is North Korea ready to send as military assistance to the Russian army, which media reports have stated is tackling low morale and sources. It should also be noted that North Korea’s army is ranked as the world’s fourth largest with around 1.3 million active personnel, according to New York-based Council for Foreign Relations.

North Korea to send workers to rebuild Donbas: Report

Meanwhile, a separate South Korean report by Daily NK stated that Pyongyang is already preparing to dispatch its workers to the pro-Russian separatist region in eastern Ukraine, Donbas to rebuild the region as the war continues unabated for over five months. According to the report, the secretive regime with only a few allies, North Korea is planning to send these workers at an appropriate time. A North Korean source revealed to the outlet that the situation on the ground was already being monitored. 

North Korea's assistance could be helpful, particularly considering that according to US Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl, Russia probably suffered 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months. He said, "I'll also say the Russians are taking a tremendous number of casualties on the other side of the equation. You know, precise figures, there's a lot of fog in war, but, you know, I think it's safe to suggest that the Russians have probably taken 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six month".

"Now, that is a combination of killed in action and wounded in action, and that number might be a little lower, a little higher, but I think that's kind of in the ballpark, which is pretty remarkable considering that the Russians have achieved none of Vladimir Putin's objectives at the beginning of the war," he added. 

Image: AP