Having already supplied ammunition and missiles, there are reports that North Korea is sending 12,000 soldiers to Russia to be deployed in the Kursk region against Ukraine. According to South Korean intelligence, 1,500 troops are already in Russia. Russia and North Korea signed a military mutual assistance pact last June, but the media see the Ukraine war taking on a whole new dimension with the deployment of the North Korean troops.
Time for Washington to take a clear stance
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The US must take a hard stance on this, demands columnist Ivan Yakovyna in Ukraine's Obosrevatel:
“I wonder whether the Americans will react in any way. I think a perfectly reasonable reaction would be the following: Biden announces that if the information about North Korea's involvement in the war is confirmed, Ukraine will automatically be given the right to attack targets in Russia using Western long-range weapons. If Putin wants this, he can decide to go ahead with this escalation himself. That would be his decision and his choice.”
Nuclear weapons and an army of millions
This is no trifling matter, Ukraine's LB stresses:
“The deployment of DPRK troops to support the Kremlin indicates a fundamental change in the status quo in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Because another state will now be directly involved in the aggression against Ukraine. And we're not just talking about a remote, relatively small country with a narcissistic, brutal dictator. This state has already supplied Russia with several times as many missiles as the entire EU has supplied to Ukraine. North Korea also has nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles and an army of millions.”
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Kim wants his army to gain experience
Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik explains in The Moscow Times of Russia what North Korea expects to gain by deploying its army:
“The participation of their armed forces in the aggression against Ukraine will allow the North Koreans to gain experience in the most type of modern warfare: in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and advanced missile systems, in methods of cyber warfare and tactical close combat techniques. All of this is invaluable information for the modernisation of North Korea's military potential ... The country seems to be focused on acquiring tactical and technical knowledge, but not on full-scale participation in the war of aggression. Support for an ally - yes. Participation with large units - no.”
Wake-up call for the Free West
De Volkskrant columnist Arnout Brouwers in the Netherlands hopes the West will be galvanised into action by North Korea's involvement in the war:
“The allies need to structurally upgrade their support and invite Ukraine to join Nato. When it comes to actively defending freedom, Ukraine is 'more Nato' than many allies, who see membership only as a free pass for security. Nor do the Ukrainians see any other way to rebuild than through the collective deterrence of Putin's forces. But I have yet to see this happen. It would be the ultimate tragedy for Ukraine if the 'Free West' it seeks to join turns out to no longer exist.”
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