North Korea is our close neighbor, our partner, and we are developing our relations in all areas. This is our sovereign right,
It appears that they disguised themselves as Russian soldiers to hide the fact that they were deployed to the battlefield,
The exact significance heavily depends on details we don't yet know. A small number of North Korean troops going to the front probably isn't a game changer for Russia, and a small symbolic shipment of South Korean arms isn't a game changer for Ukraine,
But it certainly reinforces the sense that the geopolitical dividing lines around the war are growing and hardening as we approach the war's third anniversary,
The Kremlin's apparent desire to assure South Korea that its cooperation with North Korea is not a threat to Seoul suggests that the Kremlin remains very concerned about the prospect of Seoul's potential pivot towards providing Ukraine with necessary military support, and the implications of worsened relations with Seoul for Russian security interests in the Asia Pacific region,
The Ukraine war and its spillover to the Korean peninsula are taking a hard toll on the Seoul-Moscow relationship,
It is rather surprising that Russia would want such troops in combat, considering the probable logistic and other challenges that integrating such troops into Russian combat operations will likely entail,
The grim reality is that the North Korean troops will likely simply be cannon fodder for Russia,
They don't care about their international status being lowered,
To conduct combat operations with an allied force that doesn't speak your language presents real problems,
I think they sent the officers because their officers would understand what was going on first and then send the contingent. Because how to manage them, how to command them? I’m talking about language. I think these are serious difficulties,
No one knows how our retaliation and revenge will be completed,
I can't confirm those reports, but if that is the case, it's serious."
To me the easiest explanation is that South Korea thinks North Korea is getting something sufficiently valuable for that troop deployment, so that it makes sense to take some risk to impose costs on Russia,
They won't look very strong if they don't react somehow. And sending weapons to Ukraine is something they are de facto doing already,
People tend to think that North Korea will just send a few soldiers, receive economic support and get minor military technologies in return. But Kim Jong Un’s perspective is much broader than that,
Although the number of troops being deployed might be small, the implications of such deployment are significant,
For North Korea, fighting in Russia is not just about helping Russia — it’s seen as participating in North Korea’s own sacred war against the U.S.,
It seems that the harder Putin finds it to recruit Russians to be cannon fodder, the more willing he is to rely on the DPRK [North Korea] in his illegal war,
I think it's because of money [the DPRK supports Russian policy – ed.]. I think North Korea is very poor. They will send their people to the front line to overcome poverty."