North Korea sent between 10,000 and 12,000 men to Russia to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine, a “major escalation”, according to the West
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (POOL / VLADIMIR SMIRNOV)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday December 4 that in exchange for sending soldiers to the Ukrainian front, Russia was providing “support” for North Korea's nuclear and missile program.
“These developments can destabilize the Korean Peninsula and even threaten the United States,” he added at a press conference in Brussels. The “illegal war in Ukraine therefore threatens us all”, he added, emphasizing the global danger represented, according to him,
“the growing alignment of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran”
in this conflict.
In recent weeks, South Korean government officials and a research organization have claimed that Moscow was providing fuel, anti-aircraft missiles and economic aid to Pyongyang in exchange for troops – which Seoul and Washington accuse North Korea of send it to him. kyiv also warned that Russia had amassed some 50,000 troops, including
several thousand North Korean soldiers, to regain control of areas of the Kursk region
occupied by the Ukrainian army which launched an offensive there in early August.
“Major escalation”
Mark Rutte and many European NATO countries are seeking to convince Donald Trump, before his return to the White House in January, of the need to continue supporting Ukraine. The American billionaire promised during his election campaign to end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, but without saying how he intended to achieve this objective.
North Korea sent to Russia
between 10,000 and 12,000 men to help Moscow
in its war against Ukraine, a “major escalation”, according to the West. China, for its part, is accused of helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions and suspected of having sent drones to Russia. Iran is also accused of supplying drones, but also missiles to Russian forces.
Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed the presence of these soldiers. North Korea, however, affirmed at the end of October that any deployment would be “in accordance” with international law.
The two allies are linked by a mutual defense treaty, ratified recently.
