The United States is “worrieds” with reports of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday (15).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea of transferring military personnel to Russia’s armed forces, saying its intelligence agencies informed him about “North Korea’s real involvement in the war” in Ukraine. The Kremlin dismissed the allegation as “fake news”.
White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the involvement of North Korean troops in Ukraine, if true, would mark a significant expansion of the defense relationship between North Korea and Russia.
“Such an action would also indicate a new level of desperation for Russia as it continues to suffer significant battlefield casualties in its brutal war against Ukraine,” Savett said in a statement.
Washington says North Korea has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and ammunition. Moscow and Pyongyang deny arms transfers but have pledged to increase military ties, possibly including joint exercises.
The commander of the Army of USA in the Indo-Pacific, General Charles Flynn, said at an event in Washington that the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the conflict would allow Pyongyang to obtain real-time information about its weapons, something that was not possible in the past.
“This is different because they are providing resources and — according to open source information — there is manpower that is there as well,” he said at the Center for a New American Security.
“This kind of feedback from a real battlefield so that North Korea can make adjustments to its weapons, munitions, capabilities and even its personnel — to me, that’s very concerning,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when he visited Pyongyang in June, and said the treaty included a mutual assistance clause under which each side agreed to help the other repel external aggressions.
See what we know about Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory
This content was originally published in Reports of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia worry the US, says the White House on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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