It is clear what Russia stands to gain from an influx of some 10,000 North Korean troops to aid its war in Ukraine. North Korean troops are expected to help with that. North Korea, for its part, needs a partner that will shield it from the United Nations Security Council as it pursues its nuclear ambitions. “North Korea is trying to get as many benefits as it can from this relationship,” said Edward Howell, an expert on North Korea at the Chatham House think tank. “If thousands of North Korean troops learn how to survive on a battlefield full of drones,” Gabuev said, “that is a lesser problem than North Korea having quieter nuclear-capable submarines.

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Persons: Kim Jong, Kim, Vladimir Putin, ” Alexander Gabuev, Russia —, Mark Rutte, NBC’s Keir Simmons, Putin, ” Putin, didn’t, ” Gabuev, Kim Jong Un, Mikhail Metzel, ”, Edward Howell, —, Gabuev Organizations: West, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, NBC News, Pentagon, Ukraine, NATO, Vostochny, Getty, Yonhap News Agency, United Nations Security Council, Chatham House, . Security Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Asia, United States, North Korea, Berlin, “, West, Russia’s Kursk, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kursk, Washington, Kazan, Pyongyang, Korea, North Korean, AFP, South Korea, Seoul