South Korean media is reporting that North Korean frontline fighter pilots are among the thousands of troops sent to Russia, possibly to join the war in Ukraine. Korea has some of the same old Soviet-era aircraft that Russia is using against Ukraine, and their pilots are as good as the Russian fighter jocks according to those sources as reported by bulgarianmilitary.com. The infusion of fresh pilots will help ease a chronic shortage of fighter pilots in the Russian air force but there’s a potential quid pro quo that has the West even more concerned than the effect on the war in Ukraine.
When North Korean President Kim Jong Un visited Russia recently, he toured facilities with Russia’s most modern fourth- and fifth-generation equipment. There is now speculation that by throwing its pilots into the Ukrainian fight, Un is hoping to get Su-35s or Su-57s in exchange. That would significantly change the threat on the Korean peninsula and would probably involve Russian “advisers” in North Korea, which would have geopolitical consequences.
