North Korea is ready to send 100,000 soldiers to help Russia in its battle against Ukraine, according to Russian military expert Igor Korotchenko, who was speaking on state TV.
"There are reports that 100,000 North Korean volunteers are prepared to come and take part in the conflict, and North Korean builders are ready to work alongside ours [to repair war damage]," the Russian defence expert said in a live panel discussion on Russian Channel One, the New York Post reported.
"If North Korean volunteers with their artillery systems, wealth of experience with counter battery warfare, and large calibre multilaunch rocket systems, made in North Korea, want to participate in the conflict, well, let’s give the green light to their volunteer impulse," Korotchenko said.
North Korean support for Russia entered a new phase on July 14, when Pyongyang officially recognized two breakaway Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine: the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Luhansk, Nikkei Asia reported.
A South Korean news report stated that North Korea is preparing to dispatch more than 1,000 workers who are already in Russia to the pro-Russian Donbas region of Ukraine.
"The Workers' Party is making eager preparations because it regards the Russian request as a good opportunity to acquire foreign currency," according to a DailyNK.com news source.
The North Korean military force has nearly 1.3 million active personnel, the New York-based Council for Foreign Relations has said. Additionally, 600,000 serve as reserve soldiers in the force.
"North Korea has one of the world’s largest conventional military forces, which, combined with its missile and nuclear tests and aggressive rhetoric, has aroused concern worldwide," according to the Council for Foreign Relations website.
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