NATO warns North Korean troop transfers to Ukraine would "escalate conflict"
NATO fears a deployment of North Korean soldiers to Ukraine in support of Russian forces would "significantly escalate the conflict", alliance leader Mark Rutte has highlighted on social media.
These statements come a few days after South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) warned of the presence of 1,500 North Korean military personnel in Russia, where they are said to be receiving training before being sent to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has also said that Ukrainian intelligence services have found evidence to suggest that around 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained to join Russian forces in Ukraine.
In addition to warnings from South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence services, several videos have begun to circulate on pro-Kremlin channels on Telegram showing North Korean soldiers at what is described as a military base in Russia.
In these recordings, which could be the first visual evidence that Pyongyang has sent troops to Russia to join the war in Ukraine, phrases such as ‘there are more, there are millions of them here’, ‘here are the new reinforcements’ or ‘this is just the beginning, there are more’ can be heard in Russian.
Citing OSINT experts, the investigative news outlet Agentstvo said the video was probably recorded near the village of Sergeyevka in Primorye, in the Russian Far East, about 200 kilometres from North Korea.
Meanwhile, in a video shared with CNN by the Ukrainian governmental organisation Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security, a long line of soldiers can be seen lining up to receive their uniforms.
According to the US media outlet, upon arrival in Russia, the North Korean recruits were asked to fill out a questionnaire indicating their uniform and shoe sizes. A copy of the questionnaire shared with CNN shows that the top part of the form is written in Russian, while the different size options are written in Korean.
Regarding these videos, Rutte, who took office as NATO secretary general earlier this month, stressed that he could not ‘confirm reports that North Koreans are now actively as soldiers participating in the war effort’.
For his part, according to Zelensky, this is the ‘first step towards a world war’. ‘It is not just about transferring weapons, but about sending people from North Korea to fight with the occupying military forces’, the Ukrainian president declared during a European Union summit in Brussels, adding that Moscow seeks to drag other participants into this war in order to prevent further mobilisation within the country, thus avoiding protests and social conflicts.
Russia has denied these reports, calling them ‘more fake news’, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The West has previously accused North Korea of sending weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine. The arrival of North Korean troops on Russian territory highlights the increasingly close relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Last June, Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to North Korea to sign a pact that includes mutual defence in case of aggression. Putin's visit was also aimed at securing arms and ammunition supplies.
After his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Putin said the two countries were taking their relations to a ‘new level’. For its part, Pyongyang expressed its ‘full support and solidarity with the struggles of the Russian government, army and people’, stating that Moscow's war in Ukraine was aimed at ‘protecting its own sovereignty, security and territorial stability’.
Biden Administration reiterates support for Ukraine ahead of US elections
Amid rumours about the presence of North Korean troops in Russia, US Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd has travelled to Ukraine for the fourth time to demonstrate ‘that the United States, along with the international community, continues to stand with Ukraine’, as he wrote on social media.
While in Kiev, Lloyd will address Ukraine's arms needs and how Washington can continue to support the country's military in the coming year.
The visit comes weeks after Zelensky presented his ‘Victory Plan’ to the White House, emphasising speeding up arms deliveries and strengthening the nation for possible negotiations before the end of President Joe Biden's term in office. Among the items on the agenda were an 8 billion dollar military aid package, as well as Kiev's demand to use long-range missiles on Russian territory.
The defence secretary's trip to Kiev comes about two weeks before the US presidential election on 4 November. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is seeking re-election against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. It has been noted on several occasions that Trump may be more reluctant than Biden to continue to support Ukraine, which could cause Kiev to lose its major military and financial backing.