ISW assesses possibility of North Korea sending engineering units to help Russia

The Russian Federation appears to be pursuing a coalition of friendly states with historically warm ties to the Soviet Union, including North Korea and Vietnam, to form the basis of an alternative world order.

This is said in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), according to Ukrinform.

ISW analysts assessed South Korean TV network TV Chosun, citing a South Korean government official, that South Korea expects North Korea to dispatch a large-scale engineering force to occupied Donetsk Oblast as early as July 2024 and that the force will help “rebuild infrastructure” in occupied Donetsk city.

TV Chosun estimated that North Korea could earn up to $115 million in unspecified foreign currency each year from Russia if it dispatches three or four engineering brigades to occupied Ukraine.

“ISW has yet to observe reporting that suggests that North Korean military personnel intend to participate in combat operations in Ukraine, but direct North Korean engineering support can free up Russian combat power for operations along the frontline and aid Russian efforts to expand military infrastructure and defensive fortifications in occupied Ukraine,” the report says.

As reported by Ukrinform, the U.S. Department of Defense considers it necessary to monitor any possibility of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia to participate in the war in Ukraine as part of the agreements between the leaders of the two countries during their last meeting in Pyongyang.