North Korea is “very likely to ask” Moscow for advanced technology related to nuclear weapons in exchange for deploying troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun said at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
North Korea will likely request Russian technology transfers relating to tactical nuclear weapons, the advancement of North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and nuclear submarines, Kim said, speaking through a translator alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The arrangement would mirror one Russia has with Iran, in which Moscow has been sharing technology on nuclear issues with Tehran in exchange for weapons and military support for the war in Ukraine, the White House said in September.
Kim said that, ultimately, he did not believe North Korea deploying troops to help Russia would increase “the possibility of war breaking out on the Korean peninsula” but that it could result in “the escalation of the security threats on the Korean peninsula.”
South Korea has been raising alarms about North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia for weeks and briefed NATO allies on the intelligence about the troop movements on Monday. A source familiar with the matter said that South Korea has dramatically increased its intelligence sharing with the alliance in recent weeks as their concerns have grown about the North Korean movements.
The US independently confirmed for the first time last week that thousands of North Korean troops had been sent to Russia for military training. At first, the US said only 3,000 were there but revised that number this week to 10,000. South Korea says 13,000 have been deployed.
A small number of North Korean troops are already in Ukraine, CNN reported on Tuesday, and officials are growing increasingly concerned that the forces will enter into combat alongside Russian troops.
“The evidence now suggests that North Korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia,” Austin said on Wednesday. “Some of these DPRK troops have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we’re seeing them outfitted with Russian uniforms and provided with Russian equipment.”
Asked what would happen if North Korean troops are killed with American-made weapons provided to Ukraine, Austin said that “those kinds of things will happen” if the North Koreans join the Russians in the war.
“If the DPRK soldiers are fighting alongside Russian soldiers in this conflict and attacking Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian soldiers have the right to defend themselves, and they will do that with the weapons that we provided and others have provided,” Austin said. “If they are fighting alongside Russian soldiers, they are co-belligerents, and you have every reason to believe that those kinds of things will happen, that they will be killed and wounded as a result of battle.”
It is still unclear how helpful the North Koreans will be to the Russians on the battlefield. Many of the troops deployed are special forces, CNN reported on Tuesday, but North Korea’s military has not fought in an actual war for over 70 years. Intelligence officials believe the North Korean government sent them in large part so they could gain combat experience.
Kim, the South Korean defense minister, did not respond directly when asked on Wednesday whether South Korea will begin providing military aid to the Ukrainians to help counter the North Koreans, which would be at odds with the South Koreans’ longstanding policy of not arming countries at war.
But he did say that South Korean military analysts could be deployed to observe the North Koreans fighting the Russians to gain more insight into North Korea’s military readiness.
“I believe it could serve as a great opportunity for our analysis team or observer to learn the movements or trends of the North Korean troops,” Kim said. “I believe if we can collect such information diligently and then utilize it for our future safety of and stability of our country, I believe it can serve as an opportunity for us to provide better protection toward the people of Republic of Korea.”
“I believe it is an obvious task that our military should play to send observers and analysis team to the Russia-Ukraine war,” he added. “And I would even say that if we don’t send our observers or analysis team, it would mean that we are not faithfully doing our jobs.”
CNN’s Haley Britzky and Michael Conte contributed reporting.
