Kim Jong Un welcomed back soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine in a special ceremony | DW News

North Korea's Support for Russia

• 💡 Kim Jong Un welcomed soldiers returning from fighting for Russia in Ukraine, acknowledging nine deaths within the unit.
• 🤝 In 2024, Moscow and Pyongyang signed a strategic partnership promising mutual military assistance if attacked.
• 📊 South Korean intelligence indicates 15,000 North Korean troops have been sent to support Russia's invasion, with thousands killed.

Justification and Ideology

• 🧠 North Korea frames its involvement as an ideological struggle against Western dominance, rather than a conflict over Ukrainian territory.
• 🎯 This perspective aligns with Russia's description of its actions as a "just war against the West."

Benefits for North Korea

• 💰 The alliance provides economic cooperation and helps North Korea circumvent sanctions, offering a crucial ally.
• 🛠️ It facilitates military and defense cooperation, enabling North Korea to improve its conventional military and potentially WMD technologies.
• 🚀 North Korea gains an opportunity to learn modern warfare and battlefield test weapon systems like short-range ballistic missiles, as well as gain experience in anti-drone warfare.

Future of the Alliance

• 📈 The relationship is set for long-term cooperation, with potential shifts after the immediate military needs subside.
• 🏭 Future plans include sending 12,000 North Korean troops and workers to assist in Russian drone factories, allowing North Korea to learn and build its own drone capacity.
• 🌐 This cooperation extends to economic agreements, high-level visits, and integrating North Korea into a growing anti-Western network of states.