South Korea may increase support for Ukraine

South Korea's support for Ukraine may increase. The reason for this is the presence of DPRK troops in Russia.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a report by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“South Korea has made it clear that it may be ready to strengthen its support for Ukraine amid ongoing signals from Ukrainian intelligence about the deployment of North Korean forces near the Russian-Ukrainian border,” the report says.

In publishing their conclusion, the analysts refer to a statement by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. On November 1, he said that “all possible scenarios are being considered” in response to a question about the possible sending of weapons to Ukraine after the deployment of DPRK troops in Russia. Cho emphasized that the country will monitor the participation of North Korean troops in Russia and the “benefits” that North Korea receives from the Russian state. In particular, to determine a course of action.

On Saturday, November 2, the Main Military Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (GUR) reported that last week Russian troops deployed 7,000 additional DPRK troops to unspecified areas near the border with Ukraine.

According to intelligence, the Russians armed the Koreans with:

• 60-mm mortars
• AK-12 rifles;
• RPK/PKM machine guns;
• sniper rifles SVD/HVF;
• Phoenix anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launchers.

Besides, the DPRK troops were equipped with some night vision devices, thermal imagers and other optical equipment.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 04/11/2024