No. of Recommendations: 3
mostly lost in the shadow of trumps' inevitable support for putin against ukraine are 2 interesting strategic developments.
topmost is N.Korea's dispatch ok 10k troops for battle.
ok, we know that people are NK's least valued export, and 10k is only ~2% of russians already killed\disabled.
for those unaware, south korea is a toptier arms manufacturer, and often the first external choice for any nation not looking to dish patronage to the u.s. or other allies.
built over decades as hedge against losing supplies from the u.s., it should not surprise many that SK provides, literally, the most bang for the buck. and SK are expected to excel on a defense cost basis for the new world of electronic\drone warfare.
so far, SK has mostly been passive on ukraine, as also on most western dynamics.
but few things peak their bile like NK, and the chance to test some of their arsenal against NK troops may be the final incentive needed to play a significant role.
it is not impossible, with sufficient motivation, for NATO and S.Korea to pickup much of the armament (but not financial, intelligence, and sentiment) vacuum slowly left by the u.s.
next is the escalating war with iran.
if israel decides strikes on drone factories are needed (to send a message, or whatever), then this cripples ~90% of russian supply, and would be the among the biggest strategic events to date for ukraine.
however, i expect this NOT to happen, as israel would predictably extort the u.s. (or NATO nations) in order to do something this specific. and sadly, israel are already getting whatever tangibles they want regardless of actions.
