Putin's Pyongyang Lifeline: How Desperation Drove Russia to Beg for North Korean Cannon Fodder

 

Putin's reliance on North Korea's under-trained and ill-equipped troops exposes the crumbling facade of Russian military might—desperation has never been so palpable. In plain English, the fact that Russia is turning to North Korea's antiquated military for support marks the beginning of the end for Putin; even the USSR's ghost would cringe at this pitiful move.

When a mighty bear starts rummaging for scraps, it is clear that its grandeur is just an illusion. Vladimir Putin, once thought to be unstoppable, is now dragging his country into a desperate, near-comical predicament. Russia, a nation with over 144 million people and significant military prowess, now finds itself looking to North Korea—a nation often mocked for its militaristic displays but known for its antiquated arsenal—for assistance. Putin’s reliance on Kim Jong Un to send troops to support his so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine is a vivid sign of desperation, a last-ditch effort by a leader who has nowhere left to turn.

The latest reports suggest that North Korea has dispatched up to 10,000 soldiers to Russia, with personnel already arriving in strategic locations like Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, and Khabarovsk. These troops are not only intended for combat but also for labor—replacing Russians lost in battle, they are being dressed in Russian uniforms to conceal the source of this foreign help. A so-called "Buryat Battalion" consisting of about 3,000 North Koreans has been reportedly deployed to support the frontlines, underscoring the shift from military glory to assembling a "coalition of criminals," as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy aptly put it.

Putin and Kim Jong Un's June 2024 strategic partnership agreement, which promised military support to one another, was initially seen as a ceremonial gesture, an exchange of pleasantries between two isolated regimes. But now, with North Korean troops entering the battlefield, it's apparent that the pact was far more serious. This move violates United Nations sanctions and exacerbates the fears of global security experts who worry that Russia could reciprocate by sharing nuclear or missile technology with North Korea. The destabilizing effects of such an alliance could ripple far beyond the battlefields of Ukraine. Imagine a North Korea with access to more advanced missile technology, thanks to this exchange—an unsettling possibility.

This situation paints an unflattering picture for Putin's regime. The world remembers Russia as a formidable military force, a heavyweight during the Cold War era, boasting technology and manpower that could rival NATO forces. Now, the same country is reduced to seeking help from North Korea, a country that hasn’t fought a major war since the Korean War of the 1950s. It begs the question: How low has the mighty bear fallen? To anyone observing, Putin’s plan resembles a last-ditch effort to stop the hemorrhaging losses his army has suffered against a much smaller, non-nuclear adversary. For a leader like Putin, this represents not only a strategic failure but a humiliation of historic proportions.

North Korea's military involvement also speaks volumes about the current state of its own armed forces. Though North Korea boasts a large standing army—estimated at about 1.2 million personnel—it lacks the experience and technology needed for modern warfare. Most of their equipment is outdated, their strategy reliant on numbers rather than technological prowess. Even North Korea’s military culture is antiquated, with a heavy focus on parade-style discipline rather than battlefield readiness. Western analysts often describe the North Korean military as poorly equipped and suffering from severe supply shortages, making them an unlikely savior for Russia’s flagging war effort. As one US defense official observed, if North Korean troops are indeed being sent, they will be used merely as cannon fodder, an expendable force to be chewed up in a "meat grinder" that resembles the darkest days of World War II.

This desperation is increasingly evident as Russia appears unable to secure reliable allies. The original offensive aimed at quickly toppling Ukraine’s government and installing a puppet regime has turned into a war of attrition, where each small gain comes at a high cost in manpower and resources. Not only has Putin’s army been unable to outmaneuver a determined Ukrainian defense, but the once-feared Russian military machine has now lost its luster, revealing gaps in logistics, training, and strategy. To make matters worse for Russia, their reliance on North Korean troops has implications beyond the immediate conflict. It’s an admission that Putin's war effort is faltering, and the military once feared globally is now struggling to maintain its advances without leaning on foreign reinforcements.

Moreover, the involvement of North Korea poses significant dangers for the global community. Kim Jong Un has openly declared his support for Putin's war in Ukraine, but this partnership is fraught with risks. Western intelligence reports have warned that Russia may offer missile and nuclear technology in exchange for North Korean munitions and soldiers. This sort of quid pro quo could change the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific, creating new tensions that are already being felt by countries like South Korea and Japan. South Korea's government has convened emergency meetings in response, viewing the collaboration between Moscow and Pyongyang as a grave threat to both regional and international security.

The question remains: Will these North Korean troops save Putin’s regime? The answer seems to be a resounding "no." North Korea’s military, though large, is hardly prepared for modern warfare. These soldiers are unlikely to bring any new capabilities to the Russian front. Instead, they will likely become casualties of a war that Putin is increasingly incapable of winning. Sending poorly equipped troops into a battle where high-tech drones and precision missiles decide the outcome is akin to sending a pack of sheep into a den of wolves. They will be swallowed by the chaos of the battlefield, unable to adapt or provide the necessary force to turn the tide in Putin's favor.

If anything, Putin's reliance on North Korean troops signals that the day of reckoning is indeed approaching. He finds himself backed into a corner, with few viable allies, dwindling resources, and an increasingly discontented domestic population. Putin’s earlier grand declarations of restoring Russia to its former Soviet-era glory have all but disintegrated under the weight of failed campaigns, rising casualties, and an economy struggling under the weight of sanctions. With North Korean mercenaries now in the mix, it feels like the actions of a man who knows his days are numbered.

As Zelenskyy accurately pointed out, Putin's coalition has now grown to include not just the criminals of the Wagner Group but also the "enslaved" soldiers of North Korea—men forced into a war that isn't theirs to fight. For Putin, this is about holding onto power at all costs, but the price he’s paying may end up being his legacy as Russia’s longest-serving modern ruler, ultimately undone by his own miscalculations. The world is watching as Putin, once seen as the modern czar of Russia, desperately grasps at straws. For a regime that prides itself on strength, there is no clearer sign of weakness than having to beg for help from a country as isolated and desperate as North Korea.

It turns out that the bear who thought he could swallow his neighbors is instead choking on a bone of his own making. A bear relying on North Korean sheep to win a battle of wolves? It’s almost tragic, if it weren’t so pitifully predictable.