Pentagon: The U.S. won’t impose any new restrictions on Ukraine’s usage of American weapons if North Korea joins the conflict. NATO confirmed on Monday that North Korean military units have been deployed in Russia’s Kursk Region.
As attention turns to the Middle East, the North Korean deployment has heightened Western fears that the conflict in Ukraine (which has lasted for two-and-a-half years) could worsen.
This could be a sign that Russia is trying to counterbalance its mounting losses on the battlefield and continue to make slow, steady progress in eastern Ukraine.
After speaking with a South Korean delegation about North Korean deployments, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said to reporters that the deepening of military cooperation between Russia & North Korea was a threat both to Indo-Pacific & Euro-Atlantic Security.
Joe Biden said this development is “very dangerous.”
The Pentagon reported that 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to eastern Russia to train, compared with an earlier estimate of only 3,000 troops on Wednesday.
“A portion” of these soldiers has already moved closer toward Ukraine. We are growing more concerned that Russia plans to use them in combat, or support combat operations, against Ukrainian forces near the border.
The Ukrainian military intelligence reported on Thursday that North Korean units were first recorded in the border region of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops are operating after staging a major invasion in August.
The Pentagon has refused to confirm the presence of North Korean forces in Kursk.
Singh said, “It’s likely that they are moving towards Kursk, but I don’t know any further details yet.”
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the action an act of escalation on behalf of Russia.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, said that Kyiv has been warning of the deployment for weeks and that allies have failed to provide a strong reaction.
Listen to Ukraine. He said the solution was to lift the restrictions on long-range attacks against Russia.
Initially, the Kremlin dismissed reports of a North Korean presence in Russia as “fake news”. Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia on Thursday, but he said it is up to Moscow how they implement the partnership treaty.
An official from the North Korean Foreign Ministry did not confirm reports in the media about Pyongyang sending troops to Russia, but he said that if Pyongyang had taken such an action, it would have been by international standards.
North Korea and Russia’s military ties have been upgraded since their leaders met last year in Russia’s Far East. In June, they met again to sign a comprehensive partnership which includes a mutual defense pact.
Rutte claimed that the deployment of North Korean forces was a sign “of growing desperation” from Putin.
Rutte stated, “More than 600,000 Russians have been killed or injured in Putin’s War and he cannot sustain his assault against Ukraine without foreign assistance.”
Andriy Yerimak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, has said that sanctions would not suffice as a response to North Korean interference.
He said that Kyiv needed “weapons, and a clear plan to prevent North Korea’s expanded involvement”.
“The enemy understands strength. Our allies have this strength,” Yermak said on X
