South Korea Says North Korea’s Dispatch of Troops to Aid Russia’s War in Ukraine in Illegal Act
I am not sure what Seoul gets out of forcibly coming out against North Korea’s involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine because we all know the UN will do nothing about it:
South Korea has condemned Pyongyang’s first public admission that its troops fought alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, calling the move a violation of international law. “North Korea taking part in the war against Ukraine is certainly an illegal act that violates the United Nations charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesman for the South’s Ministry of National Defense, said at a news briefing Monday.
“Admitting [that it engaged] in the war is admission of a criminal act,” he added. “Our military and the international community strongly condemn this inhumane, illegal act.” (….)
Another South Korean official condemned the loss of North Korean lives in the conflict. “North Korea can never cover the fact that deploying troops is an illegal act that violates international law, and is inhumane, unethical behavior that sacrificed young North Koreans for the governments’ sake,” Ministry of Unification spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a separate briefing. Koo called on Pyongyang to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
You can read more at the link, but someone needs to tell Minister Koo that the North Korean troops are not in Ukraine, they have been used to combat Ukrainian troops that invaded into the Russian Kursk region.
While South Korea’s condemnation of North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict reflects deep concern over expanding theaters of war, it is important to examine this development within the broader context of international precedent.
North Korean troops, according to Pyongyang’s own account, were present on Russian soil as invited military personnel, supporting the defense of a host nation under terms of bilateral cooperation. They did not initiate an invasion or occupy foreign territory independently. This mirrors long-standing practices seen across the globe—most notably, the United States’ continued military presence in South Korea, where U.S. troops serve as a stabilizing force under mutual defense agreements.
To call the act of deployment alone a violation of international law oversimplifies a complex situation. Under the U.N. Charter, military cooperation with the consent of a sovereign state does not inherently constitute illegality, unless it directly supports a violation of international peace and security. While many in the international community condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the status of troops invited to support defense on a sovereign nation’s territory occupies a legal gray area—one which the U.S. and its allies have themselves utilized.
Moreover, the characterization of the deployment as “inhumane” due to North Korean casualties risks moral inconsistency. All nations that engage in military cooperation—whether South Korea, the U.S., or others—accept the possibility of military sacrifice. Condemning that loss selectively undermines the principle of sovereign military alliances and casts doubt on the legitimacy of any bilateral defense arrangement.
The presence of foreign troops on allied soil has long been viewed as a strategic, sovereign choice—not a blanket criminal act. If such cooperation is to be condemned, then consistency demands a broader and more nuanced legal standard.