North Korea Sends Fighter Pilots to Russia – Trainees or Reinforcements?

South Korea’s TV Chosun news outlet reported  on Monday that Pyongyang had sent Su-25 and MiG-29 fighter pilots to support Russia even before the latest dispatch of ground troops citing a South Korean government source.

The source told the media outlet that North Korean fighter pilots had been training in the Russian Far East as far back as early September. The government official said, “Ahead of North Korea’s first deployment on the 18th [of October], related movements [of pilots] were detected in Vladivostok last month.”

Another source is quoted as saying that it is possible that the North Korean pilots have been sent for further training in advance of new Russian fighter jets being introduced to North Korea. However, the source also said South Korean authorities understands that Moscow, which is suffering from a shortage of trained pilots following losses since the start of the war in Ukraine, had requested support from Pyongyang.

TV Chosun pointed out that North Korea had dispatched about 80 fighter pilots to support the fight against the US during the Vietnam War 50 years ago, and said there is a graveyard for the 14 pilots who died in the an-Dinh commune of the Lang Giang district of Vietnam’s Bac Giang province.

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Thousands of North Korean soldiers are believed to be fighting alongside Russian forces.

The memorial for North Korean fighter pilots who died during the Vietnam war. Photo: social media.

Yang Wook a Research Fellow for the Korean independent think tank Asan Institute for Policy Studies told TV Chosun, “In the case of Sukhoi-25 attack aircraft, North Korea already deploys them, and its pilots have already been trained on the aircraft.”

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes that as part of the quid pro quo of the dispatch of ground troops to fight in Ukraine, Moscow will help the North to improve its fleet of aging fighter jets.

The Insider news site quotes an unnamed US intelligence source as saying that due to shortages of fuel and the unsafe nature of much of its aircraft, North Korean Air Force pilots are limited to less than 25 hours flying time each year which means they cannot be considered as combat ready.

According to Seoul North Korea has denied the reports of troop deployment as well as the provision of weapons and ammunition to support Russia’s war. Pyonyang says its relations with Russia are “legitimate and based on cooperation,” and that accusations that it was providing its ally with assistance for its war in Ukraine was “an attempt to denigrate Pyongyang and undermine its cooperation with Moscow.”

Hong Min a Senior Researcher at Seoul’s Institute for Unification Studies said that the movement of North Korea’s troops was intended to have been carried out in secret, but the North was caught out by it being discovered which in turn could disrupt their plans. He said this could have a psychological impact on all those involved.

The South Korean government is said to have used loudspeakers announcements on the border to inform North Korean residents and military of the news of the deployments to support Russia’s armed forces.

This is a developing story. Read more about North Korean troops' deployment in Ukraine here.