North Korea could raise its army’s deployment to support Russia’s war in Ukraine to as many as 100,000 troops, according to an analyst, who warns of tensions escalating in the region due to Pyongyang’s quid pro quo acquisition of advanced missile technology from Moscow.
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“When North Korea initially sent around 10,000 troops, it was aware that replenishing depleted units would require dispatching many more,” Yang Uk, a senior analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told This Week in Asia.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the total eventually reaches 10 times that number.”
Yang said Pyongyang was using its involvement in the Ukraine war to overhaul its armed forces. “This adds to the security threats faced by South Korea, the United States and Japan,” he warned.
Analysts note that North Korea’s test-firing of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on Monday signals that it might have been enabled by a transfer of Russian technology as part of a deal for Moscow to provide military and economic benefits to Pyongyang in exchange for its involvement in the Ukraine war.
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Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Camille Shea expressed concern during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday about the missile test, saying North Korea was becoming increasingly capable of “waging war against its neighbours” as a result of its involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.