North Korea will side with Russia until his “victoire” a Ukrainewarned the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, at a time when the West denounces the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers near the front.
“There is no doubt that (…) the Russian army and people will achieve a great victory” a Ukraine, said Choe Son Hui during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrovwho greeted him “very close contacts (…) established between the military and the security services” of the two countries.
“We reaffirm that we will always stand firmly alongside our Russian comrades until Victory Day,” added the North Korean minister, according to a Russian translation of her remarks.
Russia and North Korea, who view the United States as an existential enemyhave become considerably closer since Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the two countries having notably concluded a mutual defense agreement during the Russian president's visit to Pyongyang in June.
North Korea has been suspected for many months of supplying shells in large quantities to Russia, as well as hundreds of missiles. Now it would also provide thousands of troops to fight in the conflict with Ukraine.
Front line
Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the arrival of these troops, but according to the West, they are about to be deployed on the battlefieldin the Russian region of Kursk where the Ukrainian army has controlled several hundred km2 since August.
North Korea is also suspected of asking for technologies in exchange that will help it strengthen its nuclear arsenal, particularly its ballistic missiles.
Citing the American intelligence services, the head of diplomacy Antony Blinken indicated Thursday that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers who, according to Washington, entered Russia, up to 8,000 “were deployed in the Kursk region.”
“We have not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect this to happen in the coming days”he added.
Russia, he said, equipped North Korean soldiers with Russian uniforms and trained the troops in artillery, drones, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, “which indicates that it intends to use these forces in front-line operations.”
Such deployment will constitute a new blow for Ukrainewhich has seen the West procrastinating for months on the aid it is asking for.
On the ground, l’Ukrainealready lacking men and ammunition, retreats on multiple sections of the front.
In October, the Russian army advanced almost 500 km2 in Ukraine, largest territorial gain over a month since March 2022 and the first weeks of the conflict.
Western “zero” reaction
And Americans and Europeans are greatly preventing Ukraine from using the missiles they have delivered on targets on Russian territory, for fear of provoking an escalation in the Kremlin.
But for kyiv, it is the absence of Western firmness which encourages Vladimir Putin to escalate the conflict.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attacked the reaction “zero” of Westerners to the deployment of North Korean soldiers and the internationalization of war.
The meeting between Sergei Lavrov and Choe Son Hui also comes a few days before the American presidential election, and at a time when North Korea is raising tensions with the firing of an intercontinental missile.
Ms. Choe also said in Moscow that her country “will in no way change the course of strengthening its nuclear arsenal.”
In this context, South Korea, a major arms exporter, has indicated that it is studying the possibility of sending weapons directly to Ukraine in response.
It has been opposed to it until now, due to a long-standing policy preventing it from supplying weapons in active conflicts.
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