South Korea believe that military personnel from the DPRK could have died in the war in Ukraine

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun believes that the agreements between Russia and North Korea resemble a military alliance, so there is a high probability that the military from North Korea is fighting on the side of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

This was reported by the AFP agency.

Kim Yong-hyun made such a statement against the background of what the media wrote about the death of several North Korean officers near occupied Donetsk.

"We estimate that the presence of casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly probable, given the various circumstances," he said.

And he added that North Korea may send even more of its soldiers to help Russia in its full-scale war against Ukraine.

Union of Russia and North Korea

The Washington Post newspaper reported that North Korea could transfer approximately 1.6 million artillery ammunition to Russia from August 2023 to January 2024. During this period, more than 74 000 tons of explosives arrived in the DPRK from Russia.

In an interview with Bloomberg on June 14, South Koreaʼs Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said that North Korea sent containers to Russia that can hold almost 5 million artillery shells, but Moscow needs more. Western media connected Putinʼs first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years with this very thing.

As of October, The Times, citing Western intelligence data, wrote that Russia receives almost 3 million rounds of ammunition a year from the DPRK, which is half of all Russian ammunition.

On June 18, the Russian leader visited North Korea and met with its leader Kim Jong Un. They signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The treaty obliges each party to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against one of them.

After that, the DPRK sent an "elite military training delegation" to Russia. Reuters, citing North Korean state media, reported that it was the first military exchange between the two countries since the leaders signed an agreement on closer military cooperation.

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