From Korea to Ukraine, and to all parts
A dangerous escalation
This week, came what would be an escalation in the war in Ukraine. It seems that North Korean soldiers were detected in Kursk last on October 24th, 2024. Mark Rutte, NATO’s Secretary General, described this as “a sign of desperation”. North Korea has denied being active in Ukraine. The Pentagon mentioned that North Korea deployed ten thousand troops to Ukraine.
On October 23rd, the US mentioned that it saw evidence of three thousand North Korean troops in Russia to possibly be deployed to Ukraine. South Korean intelligence services said that its neighbor shipped three thousand troops, including special forces, to Russian Far East, in Vladivostok. Ukraine mentioned that it saw at least twelve thousand soldiers being deployed to Russia, and are receiving training at five training ground, close to the Sino-Russian border.
Source: Intel Republic
On October 28th, Mark Rutt confirmed this.
“Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region”,
He added that NATO was “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine, and our Indo-Pacific partners”. He also said that this implied that it was “a breach of the UN Security Council resolutions, and a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, blamed South Korea. She said that “South Korea should not have played along with the Kyiv regime”.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymir Zelensky, claimed on Friday that the North Korean soldiers would be on the battlefield “within days”. Last week, Lloyd Austin announced that the US had evidence that North Korea had already soldiers inside Russia. US National Security Spokesman, John Kirby, stated last week that North Korea had already moved at least three thousand soldiers into eastern Russia. Moscow and Pyongyang strengthened ties since the 2022 invasion. This comes after Lloyd Austin’s fourth trip to Ukraine. There, he announced a $400 MUSD pack of US weapons to Ukraine.
South Korea has provided direct humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but not weapons. Pyonyang has been already providing weapons and ammunition to Russia, including ballistic missiles. North Korea has denied this. On June, North Korea and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership deal. Putin has mentioned that a clause of the treaty included mutual assistance to help the other repel external aggression. He only mentioned to be “in contact” with Pyongyang.
Alleged North Korean troops training in Russia Source: Victor VIcktop55
This adds pressure to Ukraine, whose army is overstretched. This also stokes tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and the Korean Peninsula. Possibly, this could boost Russian capabilities in Ukraine. North Korean troops are believed to be under a “basic kind of combat training”. According to Kyrilo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, North Korean troops have been training in Eastern Russia. South Korea could provide Ukraine with offensive weapons.
Alleged North Korean troops in Kursk. Source: ASIANOMICS
This also comes nearing the US election. If President Donald Trump wins, there could be a decrease in US aid to Ukraine.
South Korea said that Pyongyang’s involvement in Ukraine represented “a grave security threat”. It also added that it would “respond by mobilizing all available means in cooperation with the international community”. The Kremlin has described this as fake news. Putin would later neither confirm nor deny the deployment. Pyongyang dismissed it as “groundless rumors”. Ukraine called for sanctions on North Korea and isolate it.
“That is a very, very serious issue and it will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific as well”,
Austin stated in Rome.
Ten thousand more North Korean troops are expected to be deployed by December. Russian instructors expect casualties among their allies, because they lack understanding of modern warfare, like drone attacks.
It is unclear how NATO could respond by this point to the North Korean involvement.
Ukraine, South Korea, the US and NATO accuse North Korea of deploying troops to fight Ukraine. This could mean an escalation not only in Ukraine, but in the Indo-Pacific region and the Korean Peninsula. Although South Korea has not been that active in Ukraine, North Korea has been providing weapons to Russia. Ukraine will have to face this new challenge, with an overstretched army and facing a possible cut down of US help.
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