In a move poised to escalate the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Pentagon has announced that North Korea is sending approximately 10,000 troops to support Russian operations.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed that some North Korean forces are already stationed near the Ukrainian border, with further deployments anticipated in the coming weeks. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte supported these claims, stating that some North Korean units are already present in Russia’s Kursk region, where fighting has intensified.
“This deployment marks a significant escalation and a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war,” Rutte remarked in Brussels, describing the situation as one that will further strain Ukraine’s already beleaguered military, according to the Associated Press.
Western leaders have cautioned that North Korea’s involvement will not only pose a challenge to Ukraine’s defenses but will also heighten geopolitical tensions across the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region, potentially impacting countries like Japan and Australia.
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In an effort to recalibrate global alliances, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently hosted BRICS leaders in Russia, advancing his strategy to establish a counterbalance to Western influence. Moscow has already received military support from Iran, including drone supplies, while North Korea has been providing Russia with substantial quantities of ammunition, as reported by AP. “Should DPRK forces engage on the front lines, they would be co-belligerents in this war,” Singh noted, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and emphasizing that American-provided weapons would not be restricted against them.
In Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov downplayed Rutte’s remarks, referencing a joint security agreement signed by North Korea and Russia earlier this year, although he did not explicitly confirm the deployment of North Korean troops. Lavrov also implied that Western military advisors have been covertly assisting Ukraine in its defense efforts for some time.
The presence of North Korean troops adds a new layer to the ongoing conflict, particularly as Ukrainian forces face intense Russian pressure in eastern Donetsk. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, some analysts suggest that a shift in U.S. support could impact Ukraine’s standing in the war. Rutte’s comments followed a NATO briefing attended by a high-level South Korean delegation, which included intelligence and military officials. However, European officials indicated that no direct evidence of North Korean troop movements in the Kursk region was presented during the 90-minute session.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed last Friday that intelligence indicated North Korean troops would arrive in Ukraine “within days,” previously citing evidence of around 10,000 North Korean soldiers preparing to join Russian forces.
As NATO monitors the situation, possible responses remain unclear, although lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes has been suggested as a potential course of action.
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(With inputs from AP)