War in Ukraine: concern from the G7, parcel bombs at the heart of a Russian “plot”, North Korean soldiers… an update on the situation

The G7 worries about a military escalation in Ukraine with North Korean support

Foreign ministers from the G7 countries, as well as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, say they are seriously concerned about the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia and the possibility that they could be involved in the war against Ukraine.

“Direct support by the DPRK (North Korea) for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, in addition to demonstrating Russia's desperate efforts to compensate for its losses, would mark a dangerous extension of the conflict.”they underline in a joint statement made public on Tuesday.

The G7 brings together the United States, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France and Canada. Ministers condemn “in the strongest terms” strengthening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including “illegal purchasing” by Russia of North Korean ballistic missiles.

They also express their deep concern about the risks of transferring nuclear technologies or ballistic missiles to North Korea, and affirm their intention to collaborate with international partners “for a coordinated response to this new development”.

Involvement of North Korean soldiers in combat will create more “instability”, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that the first reported skirmishes between the Ukrainian army and North Korean soldiers risked worsening the“instability in the world”.

His Defense Minister, Roustem Oumerov, confirmed in an interview broadcast Tuesday by South Korean television that armed clashes had taken place against North Korean soldiers, the first since the start of the large-scale invasion of the Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.

South Korea and the United States, in particular, say that thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia to support the Russian war effort. “The first battles with North Korean soldiers opened a new chapter of instability in the world”said Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address broadcast by video. “We must, with the world, do everything to ensure that this Russian initiative to widen the war with a real escalation fails. Let this initiative (by Russian President Vladimir Putin) be a loser, both for him and for North Korea “he added.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that more than 10,000 North Korean troops had arrived in Russia, including a “significant number” near the front, including in the Kursk region where the Ukrainian army broke through in August . The Pentagon in the United States estimated that at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Kursk but it was not able to confirm their participation in the fighting.

Roustem Oumerov told South Korean television station KBS that there had been a “petit engagement” with North Korean troops. “Yes, I think so. It’s a commitment”he responded in English to the question of whether a clash had taken place. KBS said Roustem Oumerov told the journalist conducting the interview that verification procedures were likely to take time because the Russian army is trying to pass the North Koreans off as Buryats, a Mongolian ethnic group from Siberia.

Russia does not explicitly recognize the presence of North Korean soldiers on its soil, but Vladimir Putin did not deny their presence last week. The Russian president said it was up to Russia to decide how to implement its defense partnership treaty with North Korea.

Parcel bombs at the heart of a Russian “plot” targeting the USA in particular

The parcel bombs which exploded in several postal warehouses in Europe are part of a “conspiracy” orchestrated by Russia against Ukraine's allies, security officials reported Tuesday. Moscow is planning to trigger explosions on cargo flights bound for the United States, according to these sources.

Western countries and European intelligence agencies have already accused Moscow of causing a series of fires and acts of sabotage on the continent in an attempt to destabilize Ukraine's allies, at war with Russia since February 2022. The explosions that occurred in July on postal platforms in Great Britain, Germany and Poland – the work of Russia according to Lithuania – may portend an escalation in the mode of operation, security sources believe.

Planes could thus be targeted, they declare. “I can say that this is part of the unconventional kinetic operations against NATO countries that are being undertaken by Russian military intelligence services”Kestutis Budrys, national security adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, told Reuters on Tuesday.

“We see that these operations are escalating: they are focusing on attacks on infrastructure and actions that could end up killing people”he added.

The Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Monday, the Wall Street Journalciting Western security sources, reported that the packages that exploded in DHL depots in Birmingham and Leipzig were part of the preparation of an operation aimed at causing fires on cargo or commercial flights to the North America.

Poland said in October it had arrested four people as part of an investigation into parcel bombs sent via postal services to European Union countries and Britain, with the final destination being the United States and Britain. Canada. Warsaw accused foreign intelligence services without specifically naming Russia.

Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported in October that the packages that exploded in Poland, Germany and Britain were sent from Lithuania.

In the United States, the FBI declined to comment. The director general of the British Security Service (MI5), Ken McCallum, said in October that the Russian military intelligence service GRU was trying to sow chaos in Britain and Europe.