This is becoming clearer. North Korean soldiers, 8,000 of whom have reached the Russian border region of Kursk, are ready to fight Ukrainian forces “in the days to come,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. “If these troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets,” he also said.
“We have not yet seen these troops deploy in combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect that to happen in the coming days,” Anthony Blinken said during a press conference organized at the resulting from talks between the United States and South Korea.
Russia has trained North Korean troops “in artillery, drones, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that it fully intends to use these forces in front-line operations,” said the US Secretary of State.
North Korea has also supplied more than “1,000 missiles” and millions of munitions to Russia, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said Thursday.
Zelensky deplores “zero” reaction from the West
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier criticized the West’s “zero” reaction to the arrival of North Korean troops in Russia to fight Ukraine. “I think the reaction on this subject is zero, it has been zero,” declared Volodymyr Zelensky about his partners in this interview with the South Korean channel KBS, in which he also said “ surprised by China’s silence” on this deployment.
The United States and South Korea on Wednesday called on North Korea to withdraw its troops in Russia, fearing they would be used to fight in Ukraine, while the Russian ambassador to the UN called “mere assertions » information reporting their presence. The deputy US ambassador to the UN warned on Wednesday that North Korean soldiers would “necessarily leave in body bags” if they entered Ukraine to support Russia.