The combat role of Pyongyang’s troops risks the entry of a third state into the conflict, prompted by Moscow’s aggression in 2022.
South Korea has reported that thousands of North Korean troops are now ready to support the war against Ukraine, including in the front-line Kursk region.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia. The report follows similar announcements from Ukraine and the United States, raising fears that Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to the battlefield could signal an escalation of the war to involve a third state.
“More than 10,000 North Korean troops are currently in Russia, and our assessment is that a significant portion of them are deployed in front-line areas, including Kursk,” spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu said at a briefing.
The comments came hours after the US Pentagon said at least 10,000 North Korean troops were in Kursk. Ukrainian forces have taken control of parts of the border area following an incursion that began in August.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency has said about 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals, are in Russia and training at military bases.
President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Western allies for a response in a social media post.
Today, we discussed the Kursk operation with our military leadership, marking almost three months of active actions in the Kursk area. This is an important operation – we maintain this “buffer zone” in designated areas near our state border.
We must also recognize its value… pic.twitter.com/o8vZQoSCoL
– Volodymyr Zelensky / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) 4 November 2024
“At present, there are already eleven thousand [North Korean military personnel] Deployed in the Kursk area,” he wrote. “We are seeing an increase in North Korean forces, but, unfortunately, we are not seeing an increase in response from our allies.”
legitimate goal
Kiev and Western officials have warned that North Korean troops could soon be deployed on the battlefield against Ukraine. UN diplomats have expressed hope that they could be deployed behind the front lines and restricted to logistical and other non-combat duties.
The US warned on Monday that Pyongyang’s troops would become legitimate military targets if they entered the battlefield.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said, “All indications are that they will provide some type of combat or combat support capability.” “We would fully expect the Ukrainians to do what they need to do to protect themselves and their personnel.”
Seoul spokesman Jeon said he could not confirm whether North Korean troops were now engaged in combat. South Korean media have reported that about 40 North Korean soldiers have been killed on the battlefield.
Officials in Kiev said on Monday that North Korean troops had already been targeted by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
“The first military personnel of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have already come under fire in the Kursk region,” said Andrey Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation. wrote On Telegram.
‘Provocation’
Pyongyang’s provision of arms and troops to Russia has also raised concerns about what Moscow might do to Kim in return.
Meeting in Seoul on Monday, South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Cho Tae-yeul and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed “deep concern” over the possible transfer of Russian nuclear or ballistic missile technology to North Korea.
Pyongyang on Tuesday fired a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, coinciding with the start of the US presidential election.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said shortly afterward that the missile test was a response to American “provocation” and a reasonable security measure.
