North Korean pilots in Russia: Preparation or propaganda?
South Korean media report that pilots from North Korea have been training in Russia since September and may join infantry soldiers dispatched to engage in Ukraine. However, as one Ukrainian military figure notes, it looks pretty doubtful that Pyongyang would support Moscow with its airplanes.
"There are no aircraft in North Korea. Their condition is the same as what we had at the beginning of the war. It was about 30 MiG-29 units, slightly more than the Su-25s. Everything else is junk from the '50s and '70s," explained Colonel Oleksandr Lykhodyed on Kyiv24 television.
The North Korean Air Force is mainly composed of old aircraft
The North Korean Air Force indeed relies on Soviet-era aircraft. These are primarily MiG fighters, ranging from the MiG-17, through the MiG-21 and MiG-23, to the MiG-29, supplemented by a few types of Chinese aircraft. Depending on sources, different numbers appear in the lists. There are likely more planes than Ukraine had at the outbreak of the war with Russia, but the technical condition of the North Korean Air Force is an entirely different issue. As Lykhodyed noted, it's mainly about the age of the aircraft owned by the Koreans. Many are systematically retiring and are used as spare parts for other planes still fit to fly.
For example, the MiG-17 is a fighter produced in the '50s. The MiG-29 started entering service in the '80s. It is a design measuring approximately 17 metres in length, capable of reaching speeds above 2,445 km/h, and carrying armament weighing from 2,000 to even 5,000 kg (depending on the variant).
Is North Korea counting on Russian aircraft?
The potential involvement of North Korean pilots in the war in Ukraine is not the only suggestion in this story. Some experts, including Lykhodyed, suggest that North Koreans are training in Russia on the much more modern Su-35 and Su-30SM because "they are preparing for a war with South Korea and Japan."
It is worth recalling that in 2023, Kim Jong Un visited one of the Russian factories where, among other things, the Su-35 and Su-57 are produced. Some observers suggested at the time that this was another indication of a strong interest in such aircraft, which would significantly improve the image of the North Korean Air Force. The ambitions associated with this might be confirmed by constructing North Korea's first AWACS-type aircraft (Airborne Early Warning And Control), meaning early warning and control system aircraft.
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened significantly. North Korea provides Russia with significant amounts of various types of ammunition and even ballistic missiles, in return counting on increasingly fruitful economic, space, and military and nuclear cooperation.
