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By Micah McCartney
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Russia will provide North Korea with fighter jets in exchange for the thousands of troops Pyongyang has reportedly sent to support Moscow's war against Ukraine, the head of the United States' Pacific forces said.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, told reporters that Kim Jong Un's regime is set to receive MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft, Soviet-era fighters introduced four decades ago, according to Aviation Week Network.
The news follows reports, confirmed by the Pentagon, that thousands of North Korean troops have deployed to Russia's frontline region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have been mounting a counteroffensive since August. Paparo said that while these soldiers are in combat zones, they have not yet engaged in fighting—a statement that contradicts recent comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Paparo said that while the MiG-29s and Su-27s are not modern platforms, they remain "formidable" assets capable of bolstering North Korea's air power. Pyongyang's fleet of combat aircraft were purchased from the Soviet Union and later China.
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The communist country's bitter rival, South Korea, operates upgraded versions of the U.S.-made F-15 and F-16 fighters, F-35 stealth fighters and warplanes such as the KAI T-50.
The U.S. and its allies have warned that these expanding military ties could result in dangerous transfers of advanced technology to aid Pyongyang's United Nations-sanctioned ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
Last month, South Korea's defense chief said Russia had shipped North Korea air defense missiles in a quid pro quo move in response to Pyongyang's injection of fresh troops.
Seoul has also accused Pyongyang of shipping thousands of containers filled with munitions to replenish Russia's depleted stocks.
Ukraine continues to operate aging F-16s supplied by European allies and is set to receive additional batches next year. France has also pledged Mirage 2000s, fighters that, like the MiG-29s and Su-27s, entered service some 40 years ago.
The growing alignment between Russia and North Korea has sparked regional alarm, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling the North Korean boots on the ground a "dangerous and destabilizing escalation."
Over the summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un inked a landmark military cooperation agreement. The allies have stressed that only countries planning an attack need be concerned over the pact and have denied there are North Korean boots on the ground.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, China, by email for comment outside of normal office hours.
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