Social media posts exaggerate North Korea’s support for Russian invasion of Ukraine, analysts say

Social media posts claim that North Korea has decided to send troops to Ukraine to support Russia, citing a Russian state media report. However, youThe report does not mention North Korea sending troops to Ukraine. There have been no official reports or statements to support the claim, as of April 26. North Korean experts told AFP it was “highly unlikely” that Pyongyang would deploy troops to Ukraine.

“[Breaking] Russian state media reported that North Korea has decided to send troops to Ukraine to support Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian war,” a statement in Korean said. mail shared on April 15 on Naver Blog.

Screenshot of Naver’s misleading blog post, taken on April 21, 2022.

An identical claim was shared on a youtube video titled “Russian state media reported that North Korea decided to send troops to Ukraine.”

The video cites a report published on April 14 by Russia TASS state news agency.

The same claim was shared on the South Korean online community Daum Cafe. here Y here.

However, the claim is misleading.

misrepresented report

The TASS report cited in the posts does not mention North Korea sending troops to Ukraine.

The report is titled: “Russia Takes Note of North Korea’s Support for Ukraine Operation, Diplomat Says.”

It reads in part: “North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow stated that his country’s leadership was committed to advancing friendly relations with Russia.”

The report quotes Russian Foreign Ministry Director of the First Asian Department Georgy Zinovyev as saying that Pyongyang expressed full support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and condemned the West’s destructive policies.

Keyword searches found no official reports or statements to support the posts’ claim.

‘highly unlikely’

Cheong Seong-changdirector of the Sejong Institute’s Center for North Korea Studies, said it would be “highly unlikely” for North Korea to send troops to Ukraine.

“North Korea would not risk facing additional sanctions from the international community,” Cheong told AFP on April 20.

“Also, due to the pandemic, North Korea has kept its borders tightly closed. It is unclear if the North Korean soldiers will be able to return home once they leave the country.”

Cheong said it would be difficult for Pyongyang to secretly send in troops without attracting the attention of the international community.

“North Korean soldiers differ in appearance and language from their Russian counterparts. It would be impossible for them to go unnoticed. There are also concerns about how to handle the wounded and prisoners,” he said.

Moon Seong-mook, head of the Unification Strategy Center of the Korea Research Institute for National Strategyhe said Pyongyang was more likely to provide weapons to support Russia in Ukraine, rather than troops.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that Pyongyang still wants to get Russia’s support and strengthen ties with it,” he said.

“What Moscow needs right now is more missiles, not more people, and North Korea has plenty of them. That’s where Pyongyang’s support of Moscow in this war would be most likely.”