Russia strengthens military alliance with blood ally North Korea… Automatic military intervention in case of emergency
“Soviet soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with North Korean patriots for liberation from the Japanese invaders in 1945, and from 1950 to 1953, our pilots flew tens of thousands of combat flights. “The feats of our ancestors have become a good foundation for the development of today’s bilateral relations.”
“Provide military assistance by any means necessary.”
These were the words spoken by Russian President Vladimir Putin before his summit meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on June 19, officially confirming for the first time the participation of Soviet Air Force pilots during the Korean War. The Soviet Union and Russia have never acknowledged that Soviet Air Force pilots participated in the Korean War. The Soviet Air Force’s participation in the Korean War was a top secret.
According to a secret combat report of the Soviet Air Force stored in the Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense recently obtained by Lee Jae-hoon, an academic research professor at the Northeast Asian Institute at Chosun University, the Soviet Air Force made 63,229 combat flights during the Korean War, and had 1,309 fighter jets from United Nations forces, including the United States. was shot down. Russian historian Dr. Aleksandr Orlov, a former Soviet Air Force pilot who participated in the war at the time, said in an interview with the Russian daily newspaper ‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’, “About 2,000 pilots wore military uniforms disguised as Chinese soldiers and took out fighter jets to fight American fighters.” He also revealed, “The Soviet Union lost 335 fighter jets and 120 pilots.” President Putin’s revelation in front of Chairman Kim that the Soviet Air Force participated in the Korean War was intended to emphasize the blood alliance between Russia and North Korea.
The two leaders signed the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty’ (North Korea-Russia Treaty), which is interpreted as stipulating the provision of ‘automatic military intervention in case of emergency’. “This treaty provides, among other things, mutual assistance in case one of the parties is invaded,” Putin said at a press conference. This is at the same level as the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between North Korea and the Soviet Union (North Korea and the Soviet Union) signed in 1961. In fact, Article 4 of the North Korea-Russia Treaty states, “If either side is in a state of war due to an armed invasion by an individual state or several states, the other side shall comply with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and the laws of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. “We will provide military and other assistance without delay using all means at our disposal.” This provision is identical to Article 1 of the Treaty of Alliance.
The Treaty of Alliance was abandoned in 1996 when Russia, which succeeded the Soviet Union, announced that it wouldDuring the Cold War, the Soviet Union exercised enormous influence by signing ’treaties of alliance’ with Warsaw Pact members and communist countries, such as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and promising automatic military intervention in case of emergency. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia had no choice but to abandon this treaty. The fact that President Putin signed a North Korea-Russia treaty similar to the Treaty of Alliance with North Korea means that Russia’s status has been upgraded to that of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In addition, President Putin emphasized that North Korea and Russia are a military alliance by saying that Russia and North Korea will cooperate in the military field based on the new treaty and that he does not rule out developing military technology cooperation. President Putin is literally saying that he will build a new Cold War system by involving North Korea.
Putin sets out to make a sure ally
President Putin once again mentioned Article 4 of the North Korea-Russia Treaty while confirming North Korea’s deployment of troops to support his country. He attended the press conference concluding the BRICS summit held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, on October 24, and did not deny North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia, but said, “It is up to us to decide what to do with North Korea.” President Putin emphasized, “The North Korea-Russia treaty has been ratified, and that treaty has Article 4,” adding, “We have absolutely no doubt that the North Korean leadership is taking the agreement with Russia seriously.”
On October 14, President Putin submitted a bill for ratification of the North Korea-Russia treaty to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The State Duma unanimously passed the bill on October 24. It is clear that this ratification will pass the Senate, which is a major force, and in this case, it will take effect once President Putin signs it. From President Putin’s perspective, it can be argued that it is a natural step for North Korea to provide military support to Ukraine based on Article 4 of the treaty, as the Ukrainian military invaded Kursk Oblast, its territory.
President Putin is showing his ambition to make Russia into a powerful country on par with the Soviet Union, saying, “The collapse of the former Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.” To this end, President Putin has been pursuing a strategy to establish a so-called ‘new cold war system’. A representative example is the military alliance with neighboring country Belarus. In March 2023, President Putin agreed with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, known as ‘Europe’s last dictator’, to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus using the threat of NATO invasion as justification. Accordingly, Russia transferred some tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in May of the same year, which was the first case of Russia deploying nuclear weapons abroad since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Belarus borders three NATO member states, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as Ukraine. The Russian and Belarusian armies even jointly conducted tactical nuclear weapons training in June of this year. At the time, the training involved Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles capable ofcarrying nuclear warheads, MiG-31 fighters capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Tu-22 strategic bombers.
As it has been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, it is most important for President Putin to ‘create a reliable ally’ in order to counter the strong sanctions of the West, including the United States, and win the war with Ukraine. This is why President Putin is using a new Cold War strategy by reviving Cold War-era alliances like North Korea and Belarus. In fact, Russia, which made Belarus a ‘nuclear state’, effectively recognizes North Korea as a ‘nuclear state’. Article 2 of the North Korea-Russia Treaty contains the following: “Aim for global strategic stability and establishment of a new international order and strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation.” Strategic stability is an expression meaning nuclear balance among nuclear weapons states. Article 10 also stipulates cooperation in the field of ‘peaceful nuclear energy’. As seen in the US-India nuclear agreement, nuclear cooperation with a country that has developed nuclear weapons outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) system is interpreted as recognition of that country’s status as a nuclear weapons state.
North Korea provides weapons to Russia
The reason President Putin recognizes North Korea as a nuclear state is to keep in check the trilateral security cooperation system between Korea, the United States, and Japan in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Roman Lobov, a senior researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), analyzed, “The North Korea-Russia treaty came about to strengthen cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan and to respond to the expansion of U.S. influence on the Korean Peninsula.” Moreover, Russia is showing its intention to turn the war with Ukraine into a favorable situation by receiving large-scale military support from North Korea. Since August of last year, North Korea has provided various weapons to Russia, including the Phoenix-4 anti-tank missile, RPG anti-tank rocket, and the KN-23 short-range ballistic missile, called the North Korean version of the Iskander missile, in addition to about 8 million artillery shells.
Through its blood alliance with Russia, North Korea not only guarantees the safety of Kim Jong-un’s regime, but also receives support, such as the dispatch of Russian troops, in times of emergency. By receiving Russia’s nuclear umbrella, it can strengthen its deterrence against military threats from Korea, the United States, and Japan, and, like Belarus, it can station Russian troops on its territory or conduct joint military exercises. In particular, in exchange for sending troops, North Korea received from Russia atmospheric re-entry and multiple warhead technologies for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), strategic nuclear submarine (SSBN) construction technology to launch submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and photography and video capture of military reconnaissance satellites. You will be provided with technology, ground stations and communication technology.
On October 23 (local time), ‘Foreign Policy (FP)’, an American media outlet specializing in foreign affairs and security, said in an article titled ‘Why is North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia important?’ that although there are doubts about the combat capabilities of the dispatched North Korean troops, the dispatch of North Korean troops is not. He pointed out that it could save Russia, which is mired in war with Ukraine, while also changing the military balance on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea can also earn foreign currency. Soldiers who join the Russian army receive a monthly salary of $2,000 (about 2.76 million won) and a small lump sum. If this salary standard were applied to the North Korean military, if 12,000 soldiers were dispatched, they would earn $24 million (about 33.21 billion won) per month. The most important thing is that President Putin is trying to establish a new Cold War system through North Korea’s deployment of troops. In this context, it is clear that the blood alliance between North Korea and Russia will become the most important variable in international order and security in the future.
〈This article Weekly Donga It was published in issue 1463〉
Lee Jang-hoon, international affairs analyst [email protected]
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The recent developments surrounding the North Korea-Russia Treaty highlight a significant shift in military and strategic alliances in the context of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. President Vladimir Putin’s confirmation of North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia amidst the BRICS summit marks an escalation in cooperation between the two nations, which could reshape the geopolitical landscape.
With the treaty ratified by the State Duma and expected to pass through the Senate, it underscores a commitment from both countries to collaborate militarily. Article 4 of the treaty could provide a justification for North Korea’s military support to Russia, especially in light of the Ukrainian military operations in the Kursk Oblast. The treaty’s phrasing, which emphasizes “global strategic stability,” suggests an intention to reinforce both countries’ military capabilities against perceived threats, particularly from the United States and its allies in the region.
This partnership is also influenced by Putin’s desire to restore Russia’s status as a formidable power, akin to the Soviet era. The recent military alliance with Belarus, involving the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, demonstrates Russia’s strategy of re-establishing Cold War-style alliances to counteract Western sanctions and military pressure.
North Korea’s provision of weapons such as anti-tank missiles and artillery shells to Russia illustrates their deepening military cooperation, allowing North Korea not only to gain resources and foreign currency but also to enhance its own military capabilities. The potential deployment of Russian troops to North Korea and the receipt of advanced military technologies in return signify an effort by both nations to bolster their defense strategies.
As these alliances fortify, the consequences for international security, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, could be profound. The North Korea-Russia alignment presents a challenge to U.S. interests and security partnerships with South Korea and Japan, heralding a potential resurgence of Cold War dynamics on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.