Washington:
The United States warned Wednesday that at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers, who have been dispatched to Russia and are training there, would become official targets for Kyiv should they participate in fighting in Ukraine.
Amid the Ukraine war, Russia and North Korea have strengthened their political and military partnership; Pyongyang is accused long-standing of arming Moscow’s forces.
However, the deployment of troops to assist Russian forces would be a major escalation in that backing and has resulted in warnings from Kyiv and its Western supporters, who separately stated Wednesday that they would make $50 billion in lending available to assist Ukraine.
“We estimate that North Korea transferred at least 3,000 soldiers into eastern Russia between early to mid-October,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby informed reporters.
From North Korea to Vladivostok, the troops sailed by ship; subsequently, they proceeded to “many Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they are currently undergoing training,” Kirby added.
Though “we do not yet know whether these soldiers will enter into combat alongside the Russian military,” he continued, “if these North Korean soldiers decide to join the fight against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets.”
Since Seoul’s spy agency reported last week stating Pyongyang had agreed to send a “large-scale” troop deployment to Russia to battle Ukraine, North Korea’s official media has not spoken.
Moscow on Wednesday declined to confirm or refute the allegations; Maria Zakharova, a foreign ministry spokesman, advised reporters to “ask Pyongyang,” where their forces are.
International issues:
Following a National Intelligence Service briefing, South Korean congressman Park Sun-won earlier reported that 1,500 more troops had been dispatched to Russia, therefore bringing the overall deployment to 3,000.
Seoul claims that with international worries growing, Pyongyang intends to send 10,000 soldiers to Russia by December.
Germany declared on Wednesday that it had called North Korea’s envoy to alert the hermit nation against military deployment.
The German foreign ministry remarked on social media site X, “North Korea’s support of the Russian war of aggression directly threatens Germany’s security and the European peace order.”
On Wednesday Kyiv called on any North Korean soldiers sent by Russia to lay down their weapons and preserve their lives.
“We deal with soldiers of the Korean People’s Army dispatched to support Putin’s rule. “You must not die senselessly in a foreign land,” claimed a statement released by a group under Kyiv’s military intelligence.
It said, “you must not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home!”
“Helping Putin” –
According to South Korea, the nuclear-armed North is providing Russia with weaponry for usage in Ukraine. Following the military agreement reached in June by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Leader Kim Jong Un, the fresh anxiety arises.
Officials said South Korea will send a team to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week to inform the alliance on the matter.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, has urged Kyiv’s supporters to react and often declared that a North Korean deployment runs the danger of escalating and extending the war even more.
“Our partners should not shy away from this task. All partners,” he remarked in an address released late Tuesday.
“And everyone in the world who is not helping to force Russia to peace is really helping Putin to fight if Russia is still able to make this war bigger and longer,” he said.
Experts have said that North Korea is probably trying to obtain military technologies, ranging from surveillance satellites to submarines, plus probable security guarantees from Moscow, in return for the soldiers.
Russia and North Korea are under UN sanctions; Kim for his nuclear weapon program, and Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Kyiv meanwhile received major fresh foreign financial support on Wednesday in the form of $50 billion in lending that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated G7 countries are committed to making available this year using income from the interest on blocked Russian assets.
