The press reported that North Korea might sent its troops to support the russian federation in its war against Ukraine. The primary source is the statements of Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.
That is why there are reasons to return to the discussion of the topic, which appeared in the public space in April 2022. We are talking about a request to South Korea to transfer russian-made T-80U tanks and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, which are in service with the South Korean army.
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According to publicly available data, the South Korean army has about 40 T-80U tanks and about 70 BMP-3s, which were supplied by russia in the 1990s to pay off the Soviet Union's debts. At that time, the Kremlin owed Seoul as much as $1.5 billion at the then exchange rate.
The South Korean army used these armored vehicles to simulate the aggressor's troops during various exercises. These T-80Us and BMP-3s are not critical for South Korea, even despite the constant threat from the DPRK.
According to some reports, these T-80s and BMP-3s in service with the South Korean army are currently experiencing technical problems. On the other hand, such vehicles could be useful for the Armed Forces of Ukraine as spare parts donors.
The request for the transfer of the T-80U and BMP-3 vehicles was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the South Korean parliament in April 2022.
Also the episode when the South Korean army conducted training battles between T-80U and K1 tanks (a local copy of the M1 Abrams) should be mentioned.
The South Korean army emphasized that the results of those exercises showed operational results in improving the tactics of using the main battle tank on the modern battlefield. In other words, the main role in this story was played not by the characteristics of the tanks, but by the level of training of their crews.
Earlier Defense Express reported that South Korea had had as many as 3.4 million 105-mm shells and 200 "excessive" howitzers that could be given to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the need to implement this option is still relevant.
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