April 17, 2025
SEOUL – South Korea needs to bolster relations with Russia to deter North Korean threats stemming from its deepening military cooperation with Moscow, a think tank here said Wednesday.
A report by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses noted that following Russia’s prolonged war against Ukraine since February 2022, Moscow has been advancing its ties with Pyongyang, while some countries attempt to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically.
The recent war that advanced Moscow-Pyongyang ties has also had the economic effect of creating 28.7 trillion won worth in revenue for North Korea, the report added.
The report, written by senior KIDA researcher Park Yong-han, stressed that this would allow the so-called “hermit regime” to request additional technological aid from Russia for developing its weapons system.
To prevent Russia’s expansion of such aid to North Korea, Seoul must diplomatically seek ways that lead to ending the Ukraine war — a step further than simply watching the development of Pyongyang-Moscow ties — and ultimately deter the two countries’ military cooperation.
“Seoul must focus on carrying out a diplomatic and defense-related approach towards bringing about an early end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has become a foundation for (the latest) advances in cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow,” Park said in the report.
“After the war ends, Seoul must then bolster ties with Moscow to prevent Russia from supporting Pyongyang’s strategic weapons development and transferring its state-of-the-art weapons to the North,” he added.
The KIDA report aligns with the concerns of the South Korean military, which said last month that the North had deployed around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for its prolonged war against Ukraine. The Joint Chiefs of Staff added that the North has been sending additional missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition as well.
Seoul officials have also expressed concerns over signs that the North has received technical assistance in its nuclear weapons program, as reflected in its latest missile tests.
Last month, the administration of US President Donald Trump was able to broker a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Still, Park warned that the Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation could later lead to Russia providing supplies and troops to the North, upon Kim Jong-un regime’s request.
“Russia could provide military supplies and deploy troops to the North. If the security on the Korean Peninsula enters a state of volatility, Moscow could add to the North’s power for survival of the Kim regime.”
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Last week, Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, told the US Senate that military support that China and North Korea are providing Russia in its war against Ukraine has grown as a security risk in the region. Paparo expects Moscow to provide air-defense and surface-to-air missile support for the North, in return for the reclusive regime’s dispatch of “hundreds of thousands” of artillery shells to Russia.