(Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
A week after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un has declared that he will send troops to Ukraine in the Donetsk region. Russia has already received two million rounds of ammunition, ballistic missiles, and rocket launchers from North Korea, but this marks the first time that troops will actively engage in battle.
Furthermore, Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian member of parliament, stated that North Korea has strengthened Russia’s relationship with China, as China could use North Korea as a middleman to avoid Western sanctions when sending goods or military equipment to Russia. “China is cautious not to fall foul of secondary sanctions by the US, but North Korea is not in danger,” he explained, calling North Korea one of Russia’s “key” partners. “So, there is no problem for the Chinese to assist North Koreans and then North Koreans to make trade with Russia and benefit from this both financially and in terms of military development.”
A spokesperson for the Pentagon said that the troops will be used as cannon fodder in Putin’s “illegal war.” Is war ever legal? NATO is alarmed as the partnership has quickly advanced from pledging an allegiance to assisting one another if attacked to joining the war effort in Ukraine.
North Korea is a small nation whose inhabitants live in utter darkness from the rest of the world. One must question how many troops will defect once arriving in Ukraine, especially once they meet Russian soldiers and learn how much different life is for those living outside of the hermit kingdom. Kim Jong-Un will undoubtedly use the troop’s families as leverage to prevent any defectors, but one must wonder how effective these troops could be against Western-backed forces. North Korea has not fought in a war since the 1950s, and sadly, these troops may very well be positioned as cannon fodder.
Now, North Korea has not declared war on Ukraine. They are allegedly sending troops to assist in the reconstruction efforts in exchange for an annual sum of $115 million. “The goal is to rebuild a city destroyed by fighting,” said the unnamed official, without specifying further on the location.
South Korea certainly sees Russia as a clear enemy and is likely to up its efforts to support Ukraine and NATO. This opens the door for the West to send troops to Ukraine under the same premise of reconstruction. All the chess pieces are aligned and ready, with the Neocons simply waiting for the right moment to strike.
