DPRK military presence in Ukraine hard to prove legally, says NGU reserve major

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“Two dozen DPRK soldiers have already escaped when they left their country. The Pentagon correctly says that there is no confirmation of the participation of North Korean troops. Russia and the DPRK will brazenly claim, looking everyone in the face, that there are none,” Hetman emphasized.

According to the veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, there is a video showing North Korean soldiers receiving Russian uniforms.

“Did they come naked, in kimonos? No, they also came in uniforms. Then why are they being given Russian uniforms? Because they will be fighting in Russian uniforms, with Russian flags, with Russian chevrons. And where are the legal grounds to believe that the North Korean army is fighting? There are none. These are volunteers. The same as those from Venezuela, Cuba, and India. Therefore, it will be very difficult to dig into this legally. 'Little green men,' 'polite people' - this is the same thing, a well-established practice,” explained Hetman. 

• Mykhailo Prytula, a retired SBU colonel and military counterintelligence expert, noted that Ukraine needs to increase its military capabilities, as the large number of DPRK manpower could become a serious burden.
• South Korea is considering providing Ukraine with assistance in the form of its military and intelligence data in response to the actions of North Korea, which sent its military to fight on the side of Russia.
• For the first time, North Korea commented on the information about sending its soldiers to fight alongside Russia in the war against Ukraine, calling it “baseless rumors.”