Posts Claim North Korea Said It Will Send Troops to Ukraine 'Within a Month' To Fight Alongside Russia. Here Are the Facts

Nick Hardinges

Updated July 1, 2024 at 10:41 a.m.·7 min read

Claim:

In late June 2024, North Korea said it will send troops to Ukraine within a month to fight alongside Russian soldiers.

Rating:

Context:

Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense pact in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024, which meant they would support each other in the event of an act of aggression against either country. South Korean TV network TV Chosun then reported that a South Korean government official said North Korea was planning to send troops to Ukraine within a month to help Russia. However, Snopes found no evidence of any such announcement being made by the North, Russia or the U.S.

On June 26, 2024, an X account claimed North Korea said it will send troops to Ukraine within a month to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

The post had amassed more than 13 million views at the time of this writing.

JUST IN: 🇰🇵 🇷🇺 North Korea says it will send troops to Ukraine to fight alongside Russia. pic.twitter.com/odZes0YTQv
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) June 26, 2024

On June 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un signed a deal that included a mutual defense pact between the two countries.

The "comprehensive strategic partnership" meant both Moscow and Pyongyang would support each other in the event of an act of aggression against either country.

In a follow-up post, the X account said North Korea "announced plans [shortly after the pact was signed] to send a military engineering unit to support Russian forces in Ukraine's Donetsk region." The account added that deployment was expected "within the next month."

Similar claims appeared elsewhere on X in June 2024 and in numerous TikTok videos. Facebook and Reddit users also made the claim.

Some social media users cited Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post and South Korean TV network TV Chosun as sources for the claim (archived here and here, respectively).

According to a June 21 TV Chosun article, an unnamed South Korean government official said: "North Korea is expected to dispatch a large engineering force to Donetsk as early as next month... The purpose is to rebuild the city destroyed by battle."

Although Snopes could not rule out Pyongyang sending troops to Ukraine in the future as part of its pact with Russia, nor could we rule out the unnamed South Korean government official having intelligence that Kim's troops would be sent to Ukraine, we found no evidence North Korea had actually made such an announcement.

Due to this, and Snopes not being able to contact the South's government official because they were unnamed by TV Chosun, we have rated this claim as "Unfounded."

We have contacted TV Chosun for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.

The Korean Central News Agency's home page, accessed on June 28, 2024. (KCNA)

Snopes analyzed 13 Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) news releases — the state news agency of North Korea — published since the defense pact with Russia was signed, but none mentioned Kim Jong Un sending troops to Ukraine.

Those mentioning Russia on June 23, June 25 and another on June 25 made no mention of North Korean troops being deployed in Ukraine. Likewise, neither did two Ukraine-related news releases published on June 27, nor a Ukraine-related June 24 statement by Pak Jong Chon, the vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's Central Military Commission, although he did reaffirm the North's support for Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, KCNA press reviews from June 22, June 25, June 26, June 27 and June 28, along with its June 20 news release about the defense pact with Russia, did not include details about sending troops to Ukraine.

However, the June 20 news release said Putin and Kim would not rule out military cooperation in the event either of their countries are invaded:

The treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership signed today envisages ensuring mutual support if one of the signatories to the treaty is invaded, Putin said, adding that the Russian Federation shall not rule out military technical cooperation with the DPRK under the treaty.

One June 21 KCNA news release said a delegation of sports and physical culture ministers, led by Vice-Minister Kim Yong Gwon, left North Korea for Kazan, Russia, on June 20, but did not mention any military deployment.

Meanwhile, during a state visit to Vietnam on June 20, Putin downplayed the idea of using North Korean troops in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

One journalist asked the Russian leader if the defense pact with Pyongyang meant Kim would provide volunteers and soldiers in Ukraine, to which Putin replied: "We are not asking anyone to do this, and no one has offered this to us, so there is no need for it."

Finally, during a press briefing on June 25, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told a reporter the U.S. will "keep an eye on" North Korean troops being deployed in Ukraine but did not confirm whether such a decision had been taken by Pyongyang.

The Kyiv Post did not provide a source in its June 26 report about North Korean soldiers. However, the article's author, Steve Brown, told Snopes via email on June 29 he "used several sources for the story, primarily [Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen.] Pat Ryder's June 25 press briefing, Politico's piece on June 26, several Ukrainian and Russian Telegram posts." It was not clear to which piece by Politico he was referring, nor what posts he considered.

That said, Snopes requires firsthand sources — such as people with direct knowledge of the issue at hand or documentation — to corroborate its reporting. Other journalists' work and social media posts by random users do not meet that criteria.

U.S.-based NK News, a website that reports on and analyzes North Korean news, also addressed the claim about Kim sending his troops to Ukraine.

Sources:

'About NK News'. NK News - North Korea News, https://www.nknews.org/about-us/. Accessed 28 June 2024.

'Answers to Questions from Russian Journalists'. President of Russia, 20 June 2024, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/74357.

Defense Now. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Talks to Media | June 25, 2024. 2024. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCpKmBGLs1c.

KCNA. http://kcna.kp/en. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | Chairman Kim Jong Il's Start of Work at C.C., WPK Marked in Russia. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad39b921bb614fc890051958923901e6cee90b7d9d2886bc48b3cc61aad7ed43cc.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | DPRK Delegation Leaves for Russia. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3adfac0f6149432dabc6cda261edffb6b85a666dda1282180e0ee1b4427b0574ae7.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | Kim Tok Hun Sends Message of Sympathy to Russian PM. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad7f72f2dce7b10a5043bb3dc858a9a7ec1866e0c7bc6571e831ca2182de7032d0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | Press Review. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3adb8631aaee77237b739710ff8c702782c6837a75abf5c6249d0e39ee758e763ea.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

---. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3addfeaf4983f15cb8e172f8cf2540b227a1afa96195f9b303902490a126ab7285f.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

---. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad52c3fb13815242192bb8b7a0635881a0a71110c246820e75b27f0800d3bfeaf6.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

---. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad3e5f77e359d491fa98bc393128fb1fb186e3f678356c6bea6037dffb29b9da0c.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

---. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad0eaa56176985325fac07f5ac939bbd126837a75abf5c6249d0e39ee758e763ea.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | Press Statement of Minister of National Defence of DPRK. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad3e5f77e359d491fa98bc393128fb1fb1b0721b9f23054ddc7fe56c2811a12715.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Latest News | Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Message of Thanks from Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/64e900f5bd0353837ca02d7babcce3ad5c3b1eeb6298718cc599464804ade9eba71110c246820e75b27f0800d3bfeaf6.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Perpetrators of Crimes against Humanity Are Bound to Face Severe Punishment by History: KCNA Commentary. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/75dcf7a18b6a7c5805b48b84eb0f32a7.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Press Statement of Vice-Chairman of WPK Central Military Commission. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/1e7c65f35121698b900ff7e0a71f58dd.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

KCNA | Article | Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation Signed. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/642528cc5ab43213fbe8830604f641b0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

---. http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/642528cc5ab43213fbe8830604f641b0.kcmsf. Accessed 28 June 2024.

'Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing'. U.S. Department of Defense, https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3817329/pentagon-press-secretary-maj-gen-pat-ryder-holds-a-press-briefing/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.defense.gov%2FNews%2FTranscripts%2FTranscript%2FArticle%2F3817329%2Fpentagon-press-secretary-maj-gen-pat-ryder-holds-a-press-briefing%2F. Accessed 28 June 2024.

Post, Kyiv. 'Pyongyang Says It Will Send Troops to Ukraine Within a Month'. Kyiv Post, 26 June 2024, https://www.kyivpost.com/post/34893.

shreyasreddy. 'Fact Check: North Korea Has Not Announced Plans to Send Troops to Ukraine — yet | NK News'. NK News - North Korea News, 27 June 2024, https://www.nknews.org/2024/06/fact-check-north-korea-has-not-announced-plans-to-send-troops-to-ukraine-yet/.

Smith, Josh, and Ju-min Park. 'Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim Sign Mutual Defence Pact'. Reuters, 19 June 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/putin-kim-agree-develop-strategic-fortress-relations-kcna-says-2024-06-18/.

[단독] 러와 '자동 군사원조' 맺은 北, 이르면 다음달 도네츠크에 공병부대 파병. 21 June 2024, https://news.tvchosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2024/06/21/2024062190181.html.

Updates:

July 1, 2024: This report was updated to include a response from Kyiv Post writer Steve Brown.

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