North Korea turns war into learning

With 12,000 soldiers in Ukraine, North Korea acquires technology and military experience from Russia, expanding its arsenal and becoming a greater threat in Asia, says US

North Korea is learning valuable lessons as it fights against Ukraine, becoming an even greater threat to its neighbors, a US official said.

In recent months, North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine as part of a new security pact between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Fighting has focused on Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized and held significant swaths of territory.

In return, North Korea is receiving economic and diplomatic support from Russia, as well as valuable military technology.

Dorothy Camille Shea, deputy US ambassador to the UN, discussed the deal at the UN Security Council, Reuters reported.

North Korea “is benefiting significantly from receiving military equipment, technology and expertise from Russia, becoming more capable of waging war against its neighbors,” she said.

“In turn, the DPRK is likely to seek to leverage these improvements to promote arms sales and military training contracts globally,” Shea said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

After brokering its alliance with Russia, North Korea adopted a defiant stance and, on Monday, tested a ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic warhead.

The test took place while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting South Korea. The timing appeared to be calculated to demonstrate North Korea’s ability to overcome the defenses of the US and its regional allies.

South Korea has watched with growing concern North Korea’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. Last year, it declared that it could step up support for Ukraine in response to the alliance between North Korea and Russia.

The UN has long sought to restrict North Korea’s military program, especially its ability to develop nuclear weapons, through severe sanctions.

However, Russia has used its position on the UN Security Council to block a committee formed to enforce them.

On Wednesday, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued that North Korea’s new missile tests were a defensive measure in response to military exercises by the US and its regional allies.

Under President Joe Biden, the US has reaffirmed its commitment to help defend regional allies in East Asia, including South Korea and Japan.

President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he may take a more transactional approach to negotiating a deal with Kim, a path he took in his first term.

With information from Business Insider*