North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (C) views a fighter jet fly-by in Pyongyang, North Korea, 11 October 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/KCNA
Russia has agreed to provide North Korea with MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets as a quid pro quo for Pyongyang’s transfer of thousands of its troops to bolster Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, according to Admiral Samuel Paparo, the head of the US Armed Forces’ Indo-Pacific Command.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Saturday, Paparo said that North Korea had voluntarily provided its troops without being prompted to do so by Russia, adding that though they had been deployed to combat zones, they were yet to see active combat. Paparo’s assertion ran contrary to earlier statements from senior Ukrainian officials saying that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had already engaged North Korean troops on the front lines.
Though the aircraft Russia plans to send to North Korea are older, Soviet-era models, they are still considered a “formidable” weapon, the admiral stressed.
In November, South Korea’s National Security Advisor Shin Won Sik said that Russia had already provided North Korea with anti-aircraft missiles and air defence systems in exchange for Pyongyang’s transfer of its troops to Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, where a Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory has been ongoing since August.
On Wednesday, the White House announced a new national security memorandum aimed at helping the incoming Trump administration tackle deepening ties among Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.
According to the Associated Press, while the document would remain classified due to the sensitivity of its contents, it includes four broad recommendations: “improving US government interagency cooperation, speeding up the sharing of information with allies about the four adversaries, calibrating the US government’s use of sanctions and other economic tools for maximum effectiveness, and bolstering preparation to manage simultaneous crises involving the adversaries.”