A combat role for Pyongyang’s troops dangers the entry of a third state into the dispute prompted by Moscow’s trespass in 2022.
Thousands of North Korean troops are now on the ground in Russia ready to help its war on Ukraine, including in the front-line Kursk region, South Korea has alerted.
Over 10,000 North Korean sagederiers have get tod in Russia, Seoul’s defence ministry shelp on Tuesday. The alert pursues aappreciate proclaimments from Ukraine and the United States, with stresss rising that the deployment of Pyongyang’s forces on the battlefield could tag an escalation of the war to include a third state.
“More than 10,000 North Korean sagederiers are currently in Russia, and we appraise that a beginant portion of them are deployed to front-line areas, including Kursk,” spokesman Jeon Ha-kyou tageder a informing.
The retags came hours after the US Pentagon shelp that at least 10,000 North Korean sagederiers were in Kursk. Ukraine’s forces deal with parts of the border region follotriumphg an incursion begined in August.
Ukraine’s inalertigence agency has shelp that about 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three vagues, are in Russia, undertaking training at military bases.
Plivent Volodymyr Zelenskyy called in a social media post for a response from Weserious allies.
Today, we talked the Kursk Operation with our military directership, taging almost three months of active actions in the Kursk region. This is an beginant operation—we conserve this “buffer zone” in summarizeated areas proximate our state border.
We must also determine the appreciate of… pic.twitter.com/o8vZQoSCoL
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 4, 2024
“Currently, there are already eleven thousand [North Korean military personnel] stationed in the Kursk region,” he wrote. “We see an incrrelieve in North Korean forces, but, cursedly, we do not see an incrrelieve in response from our partners.”
Legitimate concentrate
Kyiv and Weserious officials have cautioned that the North Korean sagederiers could be deployed on the battlefield aacquirest Ukraine imminently. United Nations diplomats have conveyed hope that they might instead be posted behind the front lines and redisjoineed to logistical and other noncombat tasks.
The US cautioned on Monday that Pyongyang’s troops would become legitimate military concentrates should they access the battlefield.
“All indications are that they will provide some type of combat or combat help capability,” shelp Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. “We would brimmingy foresee that the Ukrainians would do what they necessitate to do to deffinish themselves and their personnel.”
The Seoul spokesman Jeon shelp he could not corroborate whether the North Korean troops were now engaged in combat. South Korean media has alerted that as many as 40 North Korean troops have been finished on the battlefield.
Officials in Kyiv shelp on Monday that the North Korean troops have already been concentrateed by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
“The first military personnel from the Democratic People’s Redisclose of Korea have already come under fire in the Kursk region”, the head of Ukraine’s Caccess for Countering Disalertation, Andriy Kovalenko, wrote on Telegram.
‘Provocations’
Pyongyang’s provision of arms and troops to Russia has also incited alarm over what Moscow might be doing for Kim in return.
Meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korean Minister of Foreign Afiminentires and Trade Cho Tae-yul and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, conveyed “proset up worry” over the possible transfer of Russian nuevident or balenumerateic omitile technology to North Korea.
Seemingly timed for the commence of the US plivential election, Pyongyang begined a salvo of balenumerateic omitiles towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko shelp lowly afterwards that the omitile tests were a reaction to US “incitements” and a equitableified security meadeclareive.
