North Korean Troops Helping Russia in Ukraine: What's the Quid Pro Quo?

With at least 3,000 North Korean troops recently joining Russian forces in the fight in Ukraine, a major question centers on what Vladimir Putin is giving North Korea's Kim Jung Un in return for his help. Also of concern is the impact the North Korean troops may have on the region, the United States, and the world.

The presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine came as no surprise to national security analyst Brandon Weichert, author of A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine.  He's confident the troops are there and more are being trained in Russia to join Putin's Ukraine war effort.

"And in fact, they're not the only nation that has troops in the war on both sides. There are multiple foreign actors, fighting each other. It's a proxy war. And so this is just the latest escalation."

The introduction of North Korean troops in Ukraine is a move the U.S. government sees as a desperate act by Russian President Putin. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, "This is an indication that he may be even in more trouble than most people realize."

White House spokesman John Kirby agreed. "That he has to farm out the fighting to a foreign country I think speaks volumes about how much his military is suffering and how uncertain he believes; how untenable he believes his situation is."

Putin is still going all out in his effort to defeat Ukraine. The Russian Duma (the lower house of Parliament) has approved record defense spending of $145 billion for next year, a third of the country's total budget.
 
Additionally, Russian lawmakers have ratified the strategic partnership treaty signed by Putin and Kim Jong Un last June. It commits both countries to provide immediate military assistance to each other.
 
So, what might North Korea receive for helping Putin in Ukraine?

Weichert said most likely Russia is providing North Korea with more advanced weapons technology.

"The North Koreans have wanted to get more and more access to greater levels of sophisticated weapons systems. So, I'm sure on some level they are engaging in some kind of trade, maybe over hypersonic weapon development," he said.

Armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, North Korea poses a threat to both American allies in East Asia and the United States itself. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said North Korea's military presence in Ukraine could lead his country to provide lethal support in the fight against Russia.
 
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested that Indian Prime Minister Modi, a Putin ally, could be a potential negotiator in peace talks. Weichert warns that an effort should be pursued by the West before it is too late.

"I think anything that ends the war as quickly and peacefully as possible is what we need. Ukrainian war has become an insuperable wound in the international body and it's going to lead, if we're not careful, to World War Three."