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$2,000 Salary Each. $200 Million a Year, 700,000 Tons of Rice, Space Technology: The Deal for North Korea
Article by Korea Herald November 3, 2024 - 15:27 North Korea is believed to have sent thousands of troops to Russia, with thousands more expected to join by the end of the year, according to South Korean intelligence and military officials. The National Intelligence Service said in a recent analysis that the costs of entry for North Korea appeared to outweigh the benefits, but other experts in Seoul said North Korea could now count on Russia’s support in any contingencies that might arise on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea’s decision to send troops to Russia just weeks before the US presidential election appeared to be based on expectations that a victory for President Donald Trump would lead to a quick end to the war in Ukraine, Tank, a member of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), said in a report on Friday. “A US withdrawal from Ukraine in the Trump era could undermine one of the key pillars of the new Cold War structure that North Korea has built in close cooperation with Moscow in recent years,” the INSS report said. “Given the uncertain outlook following the US election, North Korea has moved quickly to actively align itself with Moscow in its foreign strategy.” In a report released a week ago, on October 22, the INSS argued that North Korea would lose its value to Russia once the situation calmed down. At that point, North Korea would no longer be able to count on aid from Russia due to sanctions and strained relations with traditional ally China, the report said. “In the long run, North Korea will lose more. Rep. Wi Sang-rak, a former Russian ambassador, told the Korea Herald, “This is not a bad thing for North Korea.” For one thing, North Korea’s financial and food crises are serious overall. Mr. Wi, who received a briefing from the National Intelligence Service last week as a member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said the issue was resolved in exchange for Russia’s contribution to the war effort. The National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly that any North Korean soldiers sent to fight on Russia’s side would do so. Salary is about $2,000 a month. At least 10,000 North Korean troops are deployed to Ukraine, which is estimated to bring in more than $200 million in annual revenue, according to the National Intelligence Service. Their average salary is about $800 a month. According to its own statement, North Korea produces about 4 million tons of grain each year, including rice, barley and wheat, Mr. Wie said. However, he said, most of the country's "rice production" is actually potatoes, with rice estimated to make up less than a third of the total North Korea produces each year, in fact 1 million tons less,than North Korea needs for food, he explained. “If Russia provides 600,000 to 700,000 tons of rice, that would be enough to cover more than half of what North Korea needs to meet its annual demand,” he said. That’s a thing of the past. “So we can say that 600,000 tons is a little bit more than the rice aid we got from Russia before.” Now that Russia is buying artillery shells from North Korea, much of the food shortfall “has probably been made up by North Korea,” he said. “This is an arms deal,” he said. “North Korea can buy more than hundreds of thousands of tons of rice by selling a few containers of artillery shells.” The National Reconnaissance Office told Congress last week that it believed Russia was also helping North Korea develop advanced space technology. But the best thing North Korea can gain is the ability to force Russia to side with it if a similar situation occurs on the Korean Peninsula. On the Russian side. “If war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea can now expect Russia to come and help.” Former INSS Chairman Nam Sung-wook told The Korea Herald that the NIS think tank “despises” North Korea in its latest report. “The point of annexing North Korea is that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia will continue in the future.” “Under a binding mutual defense agreement, the two countries agreed to provide immediate military support if either side is attacked,” he said. the US administration. “Moscow will likely use its close relationship with North Korea to gain influence over the United States, as China has done in the past. North Korea can afford much more than a few hundred thousand tons of rice,” the National Intelligence Service last told Congress. Russia is attempting to launch another military surveillance satellite this week and believes it is helping North Korea with advanced space technology, but North Korea would benefit from forcing Russia to fight on its side if something unexpected were to happen on the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea is known to have fought on Russia’s side. If a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea can now expect Russia to come and help,” Wie told the Korea Herald. Tank said in a recent report that he was “disrespectful” of North Korea: “The consequence of North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia is that the two countries will continue to enter into mutual defense agreements with either side.” “We are trying to build ties with North Korea to gain influence over the United States, just as China has done in the past,” he said. “It can handle much more than a ton of rice.”Last week, the National Intelligence Service told Congress that it believed Russia was also helping North Korea with advanced space technology, as the North sought to launch another military surveillance satellite. But what North Korea would gain is the ability to force Russia to fight on its side if an unexpected situation arose on the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea is known to have fought on Russia’s side. “If a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea can now expect Russia to come and help,” Wie said. Former INSS Chairman Nam Sung-wook told the Korea Herald that the NIS think tank “downplayed” North Korea in its latest report. “The point of North Korea’s annexation is that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia will continue in the future. “Both countries have agreed to provide immediate military support if attacked by either side under a binding mutual defense agreement,” he said. the US administration. "Moscow will use its close relationship with North Korea to gain influence over the United States, just as China has done in the past," he said.