SEOUL: Jin Joo-dong, a North Korean rebel who entered South Korea in 2022, stated that North Korea is the country that has benefited the most from the Ukraine-Russia war. He published an article titled “The Kim Jong-un Dictatorship Sustained by the U.S.,” analyzing why the North Korean regime cannot exist without war and military instability, based on his personal experiences in North Korea. On February 24, 2022, Russian President Putin initiated the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of “special military operation.” Governments around the world perceived Putin’s war as a violent challenge to international peace, condemning it and providing political and military support to Ukraine. One country alone cheered and sent political and military support to Russia, rather than the war-torn Ukraine. This happened as the Kim Jong-un regime relies on war and military instability to justify its existence and welcomed it. The regime said that the war was caused by the US, and thus they are intervening.
On April 22, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Im Chon-il blamed the US for prolonging the war to benefit military monopolies and using Kyiv as a pawn in its strategy to restrain Moscow. He also insulted Ukrainian leader Zelensky calling his actions the “ridiculous bravado of a 21st-century Don Quixote.” Following the war broke out, North Korea started actively and blatantly selling arms to Russia, already a pariah at the United Nations for violating various UN sanctions. N Korea, already ostracized at the United Nations for its defiance of global norms, found a companion in Moscow, another pariah. While the world condemns Moscow and supports Kyiv, North Korea alone mocks the brave Ukrainian people fighting for their country and makes nonsensical interferences in the name of the government, drawing condemnation from UN member states. North Korea said that the war is prolonged because of Washington, hence their support for Russia.
BBC and US officials including John Kirby, the National Security Council stated that North Korea supplying a vast amount of military equipment to Moscow for use in the Ukraine conflict. North Korea supported Moscow to find a reliable partner who can help it avoid UN sanctions. Similarly, North Korean leader received political and military support from Russia. Putin recently showcased his close ties with Kim Jong-un by gifting him a bulletproof car, the Aurus.
After Ukraine war, Russia is flagrantly ignoring UN sanctions and permitting North Korean workers to enter the country. Source said that North Korean workers currently entering Russia do so openly as workers rather than under the guise of student status. The Ukraine-Russia conflict served as an opportunity for North Korean leader to promise economic, political, and military cooperation with Russia. Accusing the US for the Ukraine-Russia conflict serves to convince their own citizens. The ideology of hatred toward the US is like a spell that protects Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship. By supporting Russia, and supplying them with missiles and shells, Kim Jong-un, will undoubtedly face a reckoning for his war crimes before the suffering and dying people of Ukraine.
