North Korean troops reportedly on Russian front lines amid escalation fears

A combat relation for Pyongyang’s troops risks the introduction of a 3rd authorities into the struggle prompted by Moscow’s penetration successful 2022.

Thousands of North Korean troops are present connected the crushed successful Russia acceptable to enactment its warfare connected Ukraine, including successful the front-line Kursk region, South Korea has reported.

Over 10,000 North Korean soldiers person arrived successful Russia, Seoul’s defence ministry said connected Tuesday. The study follows akin announcements from Ukraine and the United States, with fears rising that the deployment of Pyongyang’s forces connected the battlefield could people an escalation of the warfare to see a 3rd state.

“More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are presently successful Russia, and we measure that a important information of them are deployed to front-line areas, including Kursk,” spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyou told a briefing.

The remarks came hours aft the US Pentagon said that astatine slightest 10,000 North Korean soldiers were successful Kursk. Ukraine’s forces power parts of the borderline portion pursuing an incursion launched successful August.

Ukraine’s quality bureau has said that astir 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and 3 generals, are successful Russia, undertaking grooming astatine subject bases.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called successful a societal media station for a effect from Western allies.

Today, we discussed the Kursk Operation with our subject leadership, marking astir 3 months of progressive actions successful the Kursk region. This is an important operation—we support this “buffer zone” successful designated areas adjacent our authorities border.

We indispensable besides admit the worth of… pic.twitter.com/o8vZQoSCoL

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 4, 2024

“Currently, determination are already eleven 1000 [North Korean subject personnel] stationed successful the Kursk region,” helium wrote. “We spot an summation successful North Korean forces, but, unfortunately, we bash not spot an summation successful effect from our partners.”

Legitimate target

Kyiv and Western officials person warned that the North Korean soldiers could beryllium deployed connected the battlefield against Ukraine imminently. United Nations diplomats person expressed anticipation that they mightiness alternatively beryllium posted down the beforehand lines and restricted to logistical and different noncombat tasks.

The US warned connected Monday that Pyongyang’s troops would go morganatic subject targets should they participate the battlefield.

“All indications are that they volition supply immoderate benignant of combat oregon combat enactment capability,” said Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder. “We would afloat expect that the Ukrainians would bash what they request to bash to support themselves and their personnel.”

The Seoul spokesperson Jeon said helium could not corroborate whether the North Korean troops were present engaged successful combat. South Korean media has reported that arsenic galore arsenic 40 North Korean troops person been killed connected the battlefield.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with North Korea’s person Kim Jong Un during his authorities sojourn to North Korea, successful Pyongyang, North Korea, connected June 20, 2024 [KCNA via Reuters]

Officials successful Kyiv said connected Monday that the North Korean troops person already been targeted by Ukrainian forces connected the battlefield.

“The archetypal subject unit from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea person already travel nether occurrence successful the Kursk region”, the caput of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, wrote connected Telegram.

‘Provocations’

Pyongyang’s proviso of weapons and troops to Russia has besides provoked alarm implicit what Moscow mightiness beryllium doing for Kim successful return.

Meeting successful Seoul connected Monday, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Cho Tae-yul and the European Union’s overseas argumentation chief, Josep Borrell, expressed “deep concern” implicit the imaginable transportation of Russian atomic oregon ballistic rocket exertion to North Korea.

Seemingly timed for the commencement of the US statesmanlike election, Pyongyang launched a salvo of ballistic missiles towards the oversea disconnected the eastbound seashore of the Korean Peninsula connected Tuesday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said soon afterwards that the rocket tests were a absorption to US “provocations” and a justified information measure.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies