SEOUL: A photograph posted on a pro-Russia Telegram account has sparked controversy by showing Russian and North Korean flags displayed together on a Ukrainian battlefield, suggesting potential military collaboration between North Korea and Russia in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the image, shared by a blogger identified as @rvvoenkor_bot, depicts the two national flags raised over a mine in Pokrovsk, a strategic location on Ukraine’s eastern front. The blogger indicated that the North Korean flag was recently hoisted on a hill at this site, where North Korean soldiers are purportedly stationed.
On Friday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that North Korea had decided to deploy approximately 12,000 special forces to assist Russia in its extended war with Ukraine. It is estimated that around 1,500 troops have already been dispatched to Russia’s Far East. This deployment marks North Korea’s first large-scale ground troop involvement, though it has previ
ously sent smaller contingents abroad for economic purposes.
North Korean state media has not confirmed these troop movements. Meanwhile, a North Korean envoy to the United Nations dismissed the allegations from South Korea and Ukraine as “groundless rumors,” asserting that its relations with Russia are “legitimate and cooperative.”
Additionally, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev informed First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun that the collaboration with North Korea does not threaten South Korea’s security interests and adheres to international law, according to a statement from the Russian Embassy in Seoul.
A South Korean unification ministry official noted that North Korea has not acknowledged the deployment of its soldiers, as such actions would be deemed illegal. The official referenced the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan warship by a North Korean torpedo, an incident North Korea continues to deny despite investigative findings.