North Korean troops are in Russia and may go to Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that North Korean troops were ready to be deployed by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine as early as this weekend.
Western officials have warned that North Korean units entering the war would cause nearly three year war and bring geopolitical consequences far into the Indo-Pacific region.
This possibility has alarmed leaders and increased diplomatic tensions.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby On Friday, the top national security advisers of the United States, Japan and South Korea met and “expressed deep concern” about North Korea’s deployment of troops for possible use with Russia on air. battlefield against Ukraine.
Kirby said that the three countries’ national security advisers “call on Russia and North Korea to end these actions that only serve to expand the security impact of Russia’s brutal and illegal war beyond Europe.” and into the Indo-Pacific.”
“There are probably now more than 3,000 soldiers from North Korea who have been dispatched to Russia for equipment and training,” Kirby said on a call with reporters.
Kirby said the US government does not have a firm intelligence assessment of where the troops will go “but we believe it is certainly possible” and “it is even possible” that some North Korean soldiers will deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine has held some territory since capturing it in August. However, he cautioned that he did not know if North Korean troops would be deployed in this capacity. and what purpose?
A senior official in the Ukrainian president’s office told the Associated Press on Friday that Mr. Zelenskyy canceled a planned visit to Kyiv by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the visit was scheduled to take place later. summit this week in the Russian city of Kazan in the BRICS developing economies bloc that Guterres attended.
The photo of Mr. Guterres shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit caused a wave of outcry in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, in a post on Telegram, said Ukrainian intelligence had determined that “first North Korean troops will be used by Russia in combat zones” from Sunday to Monday.
He said on Telegram that the deployment was “a clear escalatory move by Russia.” He did not provide any further details, including where North Korean soldiers might be sent.
Russia is waging a brutal summer campaign along Ukraine’s eastern front, gradually forcing Kyiv to surrender. But Russia had difficulty pushing Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk border area after the attack. an intrusion nearly three months ago.
North Korean units were detected Wednesday in Kursk, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, known by the acronym GUR.
GUR said in a statement late Thursday that the soldiers had undergone several weeks of training at bases in eastern Russia and had been outfitted for the coming winter.
The estimated number of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang to Russia is about 12,000 people, including about 500 officers and 3 generals.
GUR provided no evidence for its claim.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said Friday on the social platform X that intelligence reports suggest North Korean soldiers “will likely be deployed first in Kursk.”
The deployment of North Korean forces under a military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang brings a new dimension to the conflict, which is the largest in Europe since World War II and has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides, including many civilians.
America said on Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops were deployedto Russia and is practicing in several locations, saying that this move is very serious.
Zelenskyy said a week ago that his government had intelligence that 10,000 Korean troops are ready Join the Russian forces fighting against his country. He said a third country entering hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war.”
North Korea has provided ammunition to Russia under the defense treatyHowever, putting your boots on the ground could seriously complicate a war that is roiling international politics, with most Western countries backing Kiev.
Meanwhile, Putin has seek support from BRICS countries.
He neither confirmed nor denied that North Korean troops were present in Russia.
