In late June 2024, North Korea stated it should ship troops to Ukraine inside a month to struggle alongside Russian troopers.
Russia and North Korea signed a mutual protection pact in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024, which meant they might assist one another within the occasion of an act of aggression towards both nation. South Korean TV community TV Chosun then reported {that a} South Korean authorities official stated North Korea was planning to ship troops to Ukraine inside a month to assist Russia. Nevertheless, Snopes discovered no proof of any such announcement being made by the North, Russia or the U.S.
On June 26, 2024, an X account claimed North Korea stated it should ship troops to Ukraine inside a month to struggle alongside Russian troopers within the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian Warfare.
The publish had amassed greater than 13 million views on the time of this writing.
On June 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Chief Kim Jong Un signed a deal that included a mutual defense pact between the 2 international locations.
The “complete strategic partnership” meant each Moscow and Pyongyang would assist one another within the occasion of an act of aggression towards both nation.
In a follow-up post, the X account stated North Korea “introduced plans [shortly after the pact was signed] to ship a navy engineering unit to assist Russian forces in Ukraine’s Donetsk area.” The account added that deployment was anticipated “throughout the subsequent month.”
Similar claims appeared elsewhere on X in June 2024 and in numerous TikTok videos. Facebook and Reddit customers additionally made the declare.
Some social media customers cited Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post and South Korean TV community TV Chosun as sources for the declare (archived here and here, respectively).
Based on a June 21 TV Chosun article, an unnamed South Korean authorities official stated: “North Korea is predicted to dispatch a big engineering drive to Donetsk as early as subsequent month… The aim is to rebuild the town destroyed by battle.”
Kyiv Publish, nevertheless, didn’t present a supply for its June 26 report about North Korean troopers.
Though Snopes couldn’t rule out Pyongyang sending troops to Ukraine sooner or later as a part of its pact with Russia, nor may we rule out the unnamed South Korean authorities official having intelligence that Kim’s troops could be despatched to Ukraine, we discovered no proof North Korea had truly made such an announcement.
Because of this, and Snopes not having the ability to contact the South’s authorities official as a result of they had been unnamed by TV Chosun, we now have rated this declare as “Unfounded.”
We now have contacted Kyiv Publish and TV Chosun for remark and can replace this text if we obtain responses.
The Korean Central Information Company’s residence web page, accessed on June 28, 2024. (KCNA)
Snopes analyzed 13 Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) information releases — the state information company of North Korea — revealed because the protection pact with Russia was signed, however none talked about Kim Jong Un sending troops to Ukraine.
These mentioning Russia on June 23, June 25 and one other on June 25 made no point out of North Korean troops being deployed in Ukraine. Likewise, neither did two Ukraine-related news releases revealed on June 27, nor a Ukraine-related June 24 statement by Pak Jong Chon, the vice chairman of the ruling Employees’ Get together of Korea’s Central Navy Fee, though he did reaffirm the North’s assist for Russia in its battle with Ukraine.
In the meantime, KCNA press opinions from June 22, June 25, June 26, June 27 and June 28, together with its June 20 information launch in regards to the protection pact with Russia, didn’t embrace particulars about sending troops to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the June 20 information launch stated Putin and Kim wouldn’t rule out navy cooperation within the occasion both of their international locations are invaded:
The treaty on complete strategic partnership signed at this time envisages making certain mutual assist if one of many signatories to the treaty is invaded, Putin stated, including that the Russian Federation shall not rule out navy technical cooperation with the DPRK beneath the treaty.
One June 21 KCNA information launch stated a delegation of sports activities and bodily tradition ministers, led by Vice-Minister Kim Yong Gwon, left North Korea for Kazan, Russia, on June 20, however didn’t point out any navy deployment.
In the meantime, throughout a state go to to Vietnam on June 20, Putin downplayed the idea of utilizing North Korean troops within the Russo-Ukrainian Warfare.
One journalist requested the Russian chief if the protection pact with Pyongyang meant Kim would supply volunteers and troopers in Ukraine, to which Putin replied: “We’re not asking anybody to do that, and nobody has supplied this to us, so there is no such thing as a want for it.”
Lastly, throughout a press briefing on June 25, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder informed a reporter the U.S. will “keep an eye on” North Korean troops being deployed in Ukraine however didn’t verify whether or not such a call had been taken by Pyongyang.
U.S.-based NK News, a web site that experiences on and analyzes North Korean information, additionally addressed the claim about Kim sending his troops to Ukraine.
Sources
‘About NK Information’. NK Information – North Korea Information, https://www.nknews.org/about-us/. Accessed 28 June 2024.
‘Solutions to Questions from Russian Journalists’. President of Russia, 20 June 2024, http://en.kremlin.ru/occasions/president/information/74357.
Protection Now. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Pressure Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Talks to Media | June 25, 2024. 2024. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCpKmBGLs1c.
KCNA. http://kcna.kp/en. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | Chairman Kim Jong Il’s Begin of Work at C.C., WPK Marked in Russia. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad39b921bb614fc890051958923901e6cee90b7d9d2886bc48b3cc61aad7ed43cc.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | DPRK Delegation Leaves for Russia. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3adfac0f6149432dabc6cda261edffb6b85a666dda1282180e0ee1b4427b0574ae7.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | Kim Tok Hun Sends Message of Sympathy to Russian PM. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad7f72f2dce7b10a5043bb3dc858a9a7ec1866e0c7bc6571e831ca2182de7032d0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | Press Overview. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3adb8631aaee77237b739710ff8c702782c6837a75abf5c6249d0e39ee758e763ea.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
—. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3addfeaf4983f15cb8e172f8cf2540b227a1afa96195f9b303902490a126ab7285f.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
—. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad52c3fb13815242192bb8b7a0635881a0a71110c246820e75b27f0800d3bfeaf6.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
—. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad3e5f77e359d491fa98bc393128fb1fb186e3f678356c6bea6037dffb29b9da0c.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
—. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad0eaa56176985325fac07f5ac939bbd126837a75abf5c6249d0e39ee758e763ea.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | Press Assertion of Minister of Nationwide Defence of DPRK. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad3e5f77e359d491fa98bc393128fb1fb1b0721b9f23054ddc7fe56c2811a12715.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Newest Information | Revered Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Message of Thanks from Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad5c3b1eeb6298718cc599464804ade9eba71110c246820e75b27f0800d3bfeaf6.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Perpetrators of Crimes towards Humanity Are Sure to Face Extreme Punishment by Historical past: KCNA Commentary. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/75dcf7a18b6a7c5805b48b84eb0f32a7.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Press Assertion of Vice-Chairman of WPK Central Navy Fee. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/1e7c65f35121698b900ff7e0a71f58dd.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
KCNA | Article | Treaty on Complete Strategic Partnership between the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation Signed. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/642528cc5ab43213fbe8830604f641b0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
—. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/642528cc5ab43213fbe8830604f641b0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.
‘Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing’. U.S. Division of Protection, https://www.protection.gov/Information/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3817329/pentagon-press-secretary-maj-gen-pat-ryder-holds-a-press-briefing/httpspercent3Apercent2Fpercent2Fwww.protection.govpercent2FNewspercent2FTranscriptspercent2FTranscriptpercent2FArticlepercent2F3817329percent2Fpentagon-press-secretary-maj-gen-pat-ryder-holds-a-press-briefingpercent2F. Accessed 28 June 2024.
Publish, Kyiv. ‘Pyongyang Says It Will Ship Troops to Ukraine Inside a Month’. Kyiv Publish, 26 June 2024, https://www.kyivpost.com/publish/34893.
shreyasreddy. ‘Reality Test: North Korea Has Not Introduced Plans to Ship Troops to Ukraine — but | NK Information’. NK Information – North Korea Information, 27 June 2024, https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/fact-check-north-korea-has-not-announced-plans-to-send-troops-to-ukraine-yet/.
Smith, Josh, and Ju-min Park. ‘Russia’s Putin and North Korea’s Kim Signal Mutual Defence Pact’. Reuters, 19 June 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/putin-kim-agree-develop-strategic-fortress-relations-kcna-says-2024-06-18/.
[단독] 러와 ‘자동 군사원조’ 맺은 北, 이르면 다음달 도네츠크에 공병부대 파병. 21 June 2024, https://information.tvchosun.com/web site/knowledge/html_dir/2024/06/21/2024062190181.html.
