Blinken calls Russia’s turn to North Korean soldiers a sign of desperation

“One of the reasons Russia is turning to these North Korean troops, is that it’s desperate

[ryan robertson]
IT LOOKS LIKE THE TIES BETWEEN NORTH KOREA AND RUSSIA–ARE RUNNING DEEPER… RUSSIA IS REPORTEDLY WELCOMING THREE SENIOR NORTH KOREAN GENERALS– INCLUDING A CLOSE ALLY OF KIM JONG-UN– TO OVERSEE THOUSANDS OF NORTH KOREAN TROOPS IN RUSSIA.

WHILE THE BULK OF THE NORTH KOREAN FIGHTING FORCE HAS NET YET ENTERED COMBAT — FRONTLINE REPORTS INDICATE AT LEAST SOME NORTH KOREAN SPECIAL FORCE SOLDIERS MAY ALREADY BE INVOLVED — AT LEAST 8 SENIOR OFFICERS HAVE DIED ACCORDING TO UKRAINE.

NORTH KOREAN TROOPS COULD MAKE IT TOUGHER FOR UKRAINE TO HOLD GROUND IN RUSSIA. AFTER AN AUGUST PUSH INTO KURSK, UKRAINE GAINED SOME GROUND IN RUSSIA, BUT HAS SINCE GIVEN UP MORE THAN HALF OF IT.

ANTONY BLINKEN
SECRETARY OF STATE
“We now assess that there are some 10,000 North Korean soldiers in total in Russia, and the more recent information indicates that as many as 8000 of those North Korean forces have been deployed to the Kursk region.”

[Ryan Robertson]
SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN ADDED THESE TROOPS ARE TRAINED IN ARTILLERY, DRONE WARFARE, AND TRENCH-CLEARING TACTICS—SKILLS TYPICALLY USED ON THE FRONT LINES. THIS MOBILIZATION SIGNALS A SHIFT IN GLOBAL ALLIANCES AND RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EXTENT OF OTHER NATIONS’ INVOLVEMENT IN MOSCOW’S WAR EFFORT.

NORTH KOREA’S INVOLVEMENT ALONGSIDE RUSSIA IN UKRAINE GOES BACK TO THE VERY START OF THE WAR. NORTH KOREA’S FOREIGN MINISTER SHARED THAT KIM JONG-UN INSTRUCTED HIS COUNTRY TO QUOTE “INVARIABLY AND POWERFULLY SUPPORT AND ASSIST THE RUSSIAN ARMY AND THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE IN THEIR HOLY WAR.”

RUSSIA IS NOT DENYING THE INVOLVEMENT OF NORTH KOREAN FORCES, RATHER DEFENDING THE MILITARY COLLABORATION AS LEGAL.

OF COURSE, FACING HEAVY BATTLEFIELD LOSSES, PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN’S INCREASED RELIANCE ON NORTH KOREA FOR REINFORCEMENTS COULD HAVE MORE DIRE IMPLICATIONS FOR MOSCOW

ANTONY BLINKEN
SECRETARY OF STATE
“Putin has been throwing more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making in Ukraine. Now he’s turning to North Korean troops, and that is a clear sign of weakness. Russia’s been suffering some 1200 casualties a day, in the East, more than at any other time during the war.”

[Ryan Robertson]
BLINKEN SAYS IF THESE NORTH KOREAN FORCES ARE DEPLOYED, THEY WOULD BE TREATED AS “LEGITIMATE MILITARY TARGETS.”…AND THE WHITE HOUSE ALREADY SAID THERE WOULD BE NO NEW WEAPONS RESTRICTIONS ON UKRAINE IF NORTH KOREA ENTERS THE WAR.

THIS POTENTIAL DEPLOYMENT IS ALSO RAISING CONCERNS ACROSS ASIA. THE U.S. IS CALLING ON CHINA TO USE ITS INFLUENCE TO DISCOURAGE NORTH KOREA FROM DEEPENING TIES WITH RUSSIA, WARNING THAT A STRONGER ALLIANCE COULD FURTHER DESTABILIZE THE REGION.

AT THE SAME TIME, MANY OF THE COMPONENTS FOUND IN RUSSIAN WEAPONS ARE OF CHINESE ORIGIN–SO IT ISN’T REALLY CLEAR WHERE CHINA STANDS ON THE DEEPENING NORTH KOREAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONSHIP.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY WARNED NORTH KOREA’S INVOLVEMENT COULD ALSO TEST NATO AND SOUTH KOREA’S RESOLVE TO END THE WAR. ZELENSKYY SAID IF MORE ISN’T DONE TO STOP NORTH KOREAN TROOPS–IT COULD PAVE THE WAY FOR FURTHER FOREIGN TROOP DEPLOYMENTS.