Should Ukraine declare war with North Korea?

Should Ukraine declare war on North Korea if their troops are confirmed to be fighting alongside Russia? Maybe the better question is: should it officially recognize North Korea’s aggression against Ukraine? (Which is essentially the same as declaring war.)

This is a tough and complex issue.

From a practical standpoint, a war between Ukraine and North Korea doesn’t make much sense and probably wouldn’t escalate beyond their ground troops and missile strikes — which are already happening.

But from a formal standpoint, there’s potential for a serious diplomatic and political move. The conversation wouldn’t just be about war with North Korea, but how the war with Russia is becoming a war with Russia and North Korea. Meaning, Ukraine is not just being attacked by one country, but a coalition. Officially recognizing their joint aggression has a few important implications for the country.

First, it acknowledges the alliance between Russia and North Korea. Does that matter? A lot. Any country working with Russia now has to deal with the fact that they’re also cooperating with North Korea, which carries different international baggage. This gives Ukraine leverage to push Russian partners to cut ties.

Second, recognizing North Korea's aggression forces Ukraine's allies to respond. It puts them in a position where they’ll need to take additional action. It’s especially uncomfortable for those who advocate negotiations with Russia, because now it’s about negotiating with North Korea too. And in the West, it is a taboo. Plus, officially calling them aggressors could lead to Ukraine getting weapons capable of striking North Korea — and even Russia.

Third, and maybe most crucially, North Korea isn’t ready to be labeled as an aggressor. For years, their strategy has been to avoid provoking conflicts they can’t win. They’ve banked on having nuclear weapons, but their arsenal has a lot of question marks — like numbers, accuracy, and delivery systems. By helping Russia, they likely didn’t expect to be dragged into a conflict that doesn’t really involve them, especially when they’re worried about retaliation from South Korea.

So even just suggesting Ukraine could declare them an aggressor and engage militarily might make North Korea think twice about supporting Putin. It’s a high price for them to pay.

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About the author. Viktor Andrusiv, political and public figure, analyst and publicist

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.