Ulv Hanssen
Kim Jong-un’s decision to send troops to fight on Russia’s side in the Ukraine War has naturally spurred much speculation about North Korea’s motives. Why did Kim Jong-un decide to plunge North Korea into its first major war in more than seventy years?
Deciphering North Korean motives is notoriously difficult due to the lack of on-the-ground media access and the secretive nature of the regime. One popular explanation among Western analysts is that North Korea wants valuable combat experience, possibly in preparation for a more militant approach to South Korea. This explanation has gained some credence due to North Korea’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric vis-à-vis its southern neighbor throughout 2024 and the intensification of its missile testing in recent weeks.
However, combat experience is only valuable if the soldiers return alive, and with Ukraine’s body count, that is far from certain. Ukraine will undoubtedly place an extra large target on their backs to deter other countries from entering the war on Russia’s side. But even if many North Korean soldiers do return home alive, all the combat experience in the world would not save North Korea were a war break out on the Korean Peninsula.
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