North Korea wants to gain combat experience in war in Ukraine, - NATO PA Chairman Connolly

Jerry Connolly, Chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Congressman from Virginia, commented on the possible participation of DPRK army soldiers in the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia. In his opinion, this shows a certain weakness of the Russian Federation. At the same time, North Korea wants to gain combat experience.

Connolly said this in an interview with Radio Liberty, Censor.NET reports.

"They have one of the largest armies in the world, but they have little combat experience - in fact, none at all. The last time they were in combat was during the Korean War. So, it's been 70 years now. There are almost no soldiers left from that war. To gain combat experience, where can you go for it if you are North Korea? Well, they were invited by the Russians to fight in Ukraine. I think there are clear goals set by the North Koreans," the NATO PA Chairman said.

Also, in his opinion, Russia's involvement of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine demonstrates the weakness of the aggressor country.

"From the point of view of Ukraine and NATO, this demonstrates a certain weakness of Russia. Do you need North Korean troops deployed in Europe to fight in Ukraine? Do you really? And why does Russia need it? Maybe because, frankly, Russia's potential is exhausted? Russian losses are estimated at 600,000 killed, wounded, and missing. These figures are already approaching the level of World War II in the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa after 1941," Connolly said.

The situation is the same with China.

"The early communist revolutionaries like Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai and their associates-many of them were trained in Moscow. And it was Russia that armed the Chinese revolutionaries who eventually seized power in China. But now it is China that dominates relations with Russia, which looks to China for help. This is also a sign of how Vladimir Putin's influence has diminished and his vulnerability has increased. The fact that he has to turn to these countries to continue his horrific war in Ukraine speaks volumes," Connolly said.