South Korean intelligence believes Russia could fight alongside Pyongyang in the event of a war against Seoul, the South Korean daily the Korea Herald reported Sunday, citing a lawmaker briefed on the matter.
The United States said last week that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were training in Russia and could be deployed to fight Ukraine within “weeks.”
“North Korea is on record as having fought for Russia. If there ever is a war on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea can now expect Russia to come and help,” Representative Wi Sung-lac was quoted as saying.
Wi, South Korea’s ambassador to Russia between 2011 and 2015, said North Korea is receiving help in addressing its shortages in finances, food and space technology in exchange for its military aid to Moscow.
Russia will pay North Korea over $200 million a year for the 10,000 soldiers and send up to 700,000 metric tons of rice, Wi said, citing the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) briefing to South Korean lawmakers last week.
The Korea Herald said the NIS also believes Moscow could be helping Pyongyang with advanced space technology as it seeks to launch another military reconnaissance satellite into space.
Wi said the tradeoff is “not a bad deal at all” for North Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to the East Asian country in June.
“North Korea and Russia’s military cooperation is going to last beyond the war [in Ukraine],” said Nam Sung-wook, former head of an NIS-affiliated think tank that reported on the political implications of the troop deployment in recent weeks.
“They agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either of them is attacked under the mutual defense pact, which is binding,” he added.
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