The United States is warning that it is ready to escalate NATO involvement in Ukraine if North Korean troops join Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Zelensky government has long been lobbying for the US to provide long-range missiles and authorize their use against Russian territory. Kiev might soon gets its wish granted…
“The U.S. will not impose new limits on Ukraine’s use of American weapons if North Korea joins Russia’s war, the Pentagon said on Monday, as NATO said North Korean military units had been deployed to the Kursk region in Russia,” Reuters reports.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on Monday issued a fresh update on the situation. Speaking of a detachment of North Korean troops, she said: “A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in separate comments from Europe had claimed that North Koreans are helping Russia regain its territory in southwest Kursk region, following Ukraine’s incursion there which began in early August.
“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte said at the press conference. “The deployment [of] North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of Putin’s growing desperation.” Butte urged: “NATO calls on Russia and the DPRK to cease these actions immediately.”
Ukraine, South Korea, and the United States all say that Pyongyang has sent between 10,000 and 12,000 of its troops to Russia for readiness to fight in Ukraine.
Zelensky’s office has again this week used these reports to call for more immediate military help from Western allies. “This is an escalation. Sanctions alone are not enough. We need weapons and a clear plan to prevent North Korea’s expanded involvement in the war in Europe,” Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak has said.
“Today, Russia brings in North Korea; next, it could broaden their engagement, and then other autocratic regimes may see that they can get away with this and come to fight against NATO,” Yermak added. “The enemy understands strength. Our allies have this strength.”
Currently, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is in Russia on a state visit. Choe arrived in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Tuesday, and is expected to travel to Moscow Wednesday. It’s as yet unclear which leaders in the Russian government she’ll meet with.
VIDEO: North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to train in Russia and likely fight Ukraine in weeks, Washington says, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warns that the deployment posed a “significant security threat.” pic.twitter.com/JeXt66JRGX
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 29, 2024
In June, Russian President Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signed a security and defense treaty in Pyongyang. The Kremlin says this is the basis for troop sharing, but has not said whether North Korean troops are actually in Ukraine at this point.
Over the last several weeks, Ukraine has been warning the West of the presence of North Korean troops in eastern Ukraine, and has claimed that already they’ve suffered casualties. But little of this alleged on the ground battlefield presence has been confirmed.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 10/30/2024 – 04:15
