SYMBOLIC?

It is unclear what role North Korean troops might play.

“The numbers make this more than a symbolic effort, but the troops will likely perform support roles and make up less than 1 percent of Russian forces,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank said in a note ( CSIS).

“Russia is desperate for additional manpower, and this is one element of Russia’s effort to fill the ranks without a second mobilization,” he added, noting that the presence could increase.

The troops are also likely to play a political role for Russia and North Korea, strengthening their relations with China, which has an uneasy partnership with both countries, and sending a message to Washington and its allies, Western diplomats and analysts said.

“The closer Moscow’s ties with Pyongyang, the more influence it expects over US allies and over China,” wrote Gilbert Rozman of the Asan Forum for the US-based 38 North program.

Moscow needed a partner hostile to the status quo, wary of China but unwilling to antagonize it, and useful in meeting its arms or perhaps labor needs, he said.

A few thousand North Korean soldiers won’t change the course of the war, so it may be a Russian attempt to underscore to the United States how disruptive Moscow can be if it wants to, said a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Integrating North Korean troops into a very complex war machine is not easy. But using their presence to scare the United States and its allies in Asia is quite simple,” said the diplomat.