North Korea is believed to receive cash, food, and space technology from Russia as compensation for entering the war on its side, The Korea Herald newspaper reported on Nov. 3, citing a lawmaker familiar with the matter.
North Korea has reportedly dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia, with the first soldiers allegedly already coming under fire in Kursk Oblast.
North Korean soldiers are believed to receive $2,000 per month for their service from Russia, adding up to a total of at least $200 million annually if calculated by 10,000 soldiers, Wi Sung-lac, a member of the South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee, told The Korea Herald.
Moscow is also believed to have helped ease North Korea’s food shortage, the lawmaker said, citing intelligence briefings.
"The 4 million tons of grains that North Korea says it produces per year are actually about 1 million tons short of what it needs to feed the country. If Russia is offering 600,000 to 700,000 tons of rice, that is enough to cover more than half of what North Korea would need to meet the year's demand," the lawmaker was quoted as saying by the Herald.
According to The Korea Herald, South Korean intelligence believes that Russia is also helping North Korea with advanced space technology, enabling Pyongyang to launch another military reconnaissance satellite.
Moscow plans to form at least five 2,000-3,000-strong units manned by North Korean troops, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N., Sergiy Kyslytsya, said on Oct. 30. They would be equipped with Russian uniforms and arms and integrated into formations with ethnic minorities from Russia's Far East regions to conceal their presence.
Some 8,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast to participate in the war against Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference on Oct. 31.
Martin Fornusek
