The United States revealed Thursday that up to 8,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to fight in Ukraine, as Pyongyang heightens tensions with the launch of an intercontinental missile just days before the U.S. elections.
Citing U.S. intelligence services, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers, according to Washington, have entered Russia, up to 8,000 "have been deployed in the Kursk region,” near the border with Ukraine.
"We have not yet seen these troops engaged in combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect this to happen in the coming days," Blinken added at a joint press conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts.
Russia, which has equipped the North Korean soldiers with Russian uniforms, has trained troops in artillery, drones, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, "indicating it fully intends to use these forces in frontline operations," he emphasized.
"Make no mistake: if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets," warned Austin, adding that this deployment shows "how badly Putin's war is going."
He also noted that the United States is preparing to announce new military aid to Ukraine in the "coming days."
Additionally, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun stated that Pyongyang has supplied more than "1,000 missiles" to Russia and millions of rounds of ammunition.
"Real Escalation"
Earlier Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the Western response to this deployment. "I think the reaction to this is zero; it has been zero," he said in an interview with South Korean media.
Calling it a "real escalation of the war," his Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha argued that this should prompt the West to make a "strong decision" to "lift all restrictions on the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory," a request Kyiv has made for months.
Talks between American and South Korean officials in Washington Thursday come as North Korea launched one of its most powerful missiles with the stated goal of strengthening its nuclear deterrence.
According to Japan, the missile belongs to the "intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) category," with a range of at least 5,500 kilometers, generally designed to carry nuclear warheads and capable of reaching U.S. territory.
Pyongyang confirmed a "crucial" test, part of its efforts to "strengthen its nuclear forces" and show its "rivals" its determination to "retaliate," according to North Korea’s state agency KCNA.
"Distract Attention"
Chinese diplomacy expressed "concern over the situation's developments," while Western capitals condemned a "blatant violation" of UN Security Council resolutions.
Under UN sanctions, Pyongyang is prohibited from conducting any weapon tests using ballistic technology.
The South Korean military warned on Wednesday that the North, a nuclear-armed state, was preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, or possibly conduct a nuclear test, ahead of the U.S. election on November 5.
The North Korean launch "appears to have been conducted to divert attention from international criticism of its troop deployment" in Russia, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
It took place just hours after Washington and Seoul called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia.
North Korea recently strengthened its military ties with Moscow, with the Russian president making a rare visit to Pyongyang in June, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with Kim Jong Un.
Léon Bruneu with Claire Lee with AFP
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