(AFP) – The United States said Thursday that up to 8,000 North Korean troops have reached Russia’s border region with Ukraine, trained and ready for combat, as Pyongyang’s firing of a long-range missile ramped up tensions days before the US election. Seeking advantage in his grinding invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has brought in troops and military hardware from North Korea, marking the first time Russia has invited foreign forces onto its soil in more than a century.
Citing US intelligence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that some 8,000 of the 10,000 North Korean troops believed to be in Russia have made their way to the Kursk border region. “We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,” Blinken told a news conference after four-way talks with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and the South Korean foreign and defense ministers.
Russia has been training North Korean troops to handle artillery and drones and to clear trenches, “indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in frontline operations,” Blinken explained. Austin emphasized that the deployment of North Korean troops, who he said were being put in Russian uniforms, “just underscores how badly Putin’s war has gone.” He added, “This 10,000 won’t come close to replacing the numbers that the Russians have lost,” warning that if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would make themselves legitimate military targets.
North Korea, badly in need of cash, is also estimated to have sent more than 1,000 missiles to Russia along with millions of ammunition pieces, according to South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
South Korea, which previously indicated that North Korea was preparing a missile or even nuclear test ahead of Tuesday’s US election, reported that Pyongyang appeared to have fired a solid-propelled long-range ballistic missile that flew 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). Developing advanced solid-fuel missiles — which are quicker to launch and harder to detect and destroy in advance — has long been a goal for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim referred to the sanctions-defying launch as “an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals… of our counteraction will,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Japan noted that the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) flew longer than any previously tested by the North, remaining airborne for about 86 minutes and reaching altitudes of 7,000 kilometers. The missile could theoretically strike the mainland United States, although Washington stated there was no risk from the test-firing. Blinken and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts discussed the launch in a joint telephone call, issuing a statement afterward urging North Korea to end its “provocative and destabilizing actions.”
China, historically North Korea’s closest ally, expressed concern over the developments and called for a “political resolution” to the issue. Blinken mentioned that the United States recently had a “robust” conversation with China concerning US concerns about North Korea.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to South Korean media, condemned what he called the inaction by his allies regarding the North Korean troops and expressed surprise at the “silence” of China. “I think that the reaction to this is nothing; it has been zero,” Zelensky stated. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, on a visit to Canada, referred to the North Korean troops as a “true escalation of this war” and urged Western partners to respond by lifting all restrictions on firing long-range missiles into Russia.
Austin later remarked that the United States would soon announce new military support for Ukraine. South Korea, for its part, has been assessing whether to send weapons directly to Ukraine, thereby breaking its longstanding policy against supplying arms in active conflicts. North Korea’s missile launch “seems to have been carried out to divert attention from international criticism of its troop deployment,” commented Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Austin stated there was no evidence that Russia had provided technology for the ICBM. Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who leads the World Institute for North Korea Studies, suggested that the test was also an attempt to gain “the world’s attention ahead of the US presidential election.” US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday accused Kim and Putin of “rooting” for her rival Donald Trump, asserting that he is “easy to manipulate with flattery and favor.” Trump had met three times with the long-isolated Kim, resulting in a notably personal diplomatic style that reduced tensions but did not produce a lasting agreement.
North Korea has denied sending troops to Russia, but in the first comments from state media last week, its vice foreign minister indicated that if such a deployment were to occur, it would be in line with international law.
burs-sct/sst – Shaun Tandon with Claire Lee and Cat Barton in Seoul
© 2024 AFP
