Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is pressing the White House for an “immediate” briefing amid reports that North Korea has sent its soldiers to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, a development Turner says would cross a “red line.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised alarms during a news conference in Brussels this week after he claimed that North Korea, Russia’s key ally, is preparing to send thousands of troops from different branches of its armed forces to fight against Ukraine. Kyiv’s Defense Intelligence Directorate said a day later that there are almost 11,000 North Korean infantry troops training in eastern Russia.
South Korea’s spy agency later reported on Friday that at least 1,500 North Korean soldiers had been dispatched to support Moscow’s military and had been transferred to the Russian port city of Vladivostok this month by Russian navy ships. According to a report reviewed by the Associated Press (AP), the dispatched troops were given Russian military uniforms, weapons and forged identification documents.
In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden on Friday, Turner, a Republican, wrote that, if true, the reported leap in Russia and North Korea’s military partnership is an “alarming” and “extreme escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.”
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“North Korean troops, either attacking Ukraine from Russian territory or entering into Ukrainian territory, must be a red line for the United States and NATO,” read the letter. “Your administration must make that absolutely clear and unequivocal.”
Turner also called for “an immediate classified briefing” before the House Intelligence Committee “concerning the possible engagement of North Korean troops in a potential escalating and broadening Ukrainian conflict.”
Newsweek sent an email to the White House press office late Friday night for comment on the letter.
Russia has developed its relationship with Western adversaries—namely, China, Iran and North Korea—since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which sparked widespread sanctions against Moscow’s economy from the U.S. and other allies of Ukraine.
Following South Korea’s intelligence report on the movement of North Korean troops, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday: “At this moment, our official position is that we cannot confirm reports that North Koreans are actively now as soldiers engaged in the war effort, but that may change,” reported AP.
The Pentagon has also said that it cannot confirm or corroborate reports that North Korean troops have been dispatched to Russia. On Wednesday, however, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters that Washington and its allies are concerned about Moscow and Pyongyang’s growing military relationship.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed reports about North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian soldiers as “another piece of fake news” during a news conference last week.
According to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, about a dozen North Korean soldiers are believed to have deserted the Russian front line near Ukraine’s northern border within days of arriving to battle. The outlet cited unnamed intelligence officials who said that Moscow’s military is searching for the 18 troops.
