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MADRID 24 Oct. () –
The White House National Security spokesman, John Kirby, confirmed this Wednesday the deployment of 3,000 North Korean soldiers in military training centers in eastern Russia and stated that, if they decide to join the Russian Armed Forces who are fighting in Ukraine, will become “legitimate military targets.”
“If they are deployed to fight Ukraine, they will be a legitimate target. They are fair targets. The Ukrainian military will defend itself against the North Koreans in the same way that it defends itself against the Russians. So the possibility of dead or injured North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine will be absolutely real if they are deployed (…) If they decide to join the fight against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military objectives,” he said at a press conference.
Kirby explained that between early and mid-October, Pyongyang transferred at least 3,000 soldiers to eastern Russia on a ship from the Wonsan area to Vladivostok. From there, they have traveled to several Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they would currently be receiving training. “We still do not know if these soldiers will enter combat alongside the Russian Army, but it is a certain probability, undoubtedly very worrying,” he said.
Among the possibilities that the US authorities are considering is the option that, after completing the training, the North Korean soldiers travel to western Russia and later participate in combat against the Ukrainian Army. However, Kirby has indicated that he will provide more details on this situation in the coming days, as they are currently monitoring the situation.
“If North Korean soldiers do engage in combat, this development would demonstrate Russia’s growing desperation in its war against Ukraine. Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield every day, but (Russian President Vladimir) Putin appears determined to continue this war,” he said.
In this sense, he considered that “if Russia is forced to turn to North Korea for manpower, this would be a sign of weakness, not strength, on the part of the Kremlin.” “It would also demonstrate an unprecedented level of direct military cooperation between Russia and North Korea with security implications in Europe as well as the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
This sending of troops would respond to the signing of the agreement reached between South Korea and Russia, a treaty that includes a mutual defense clause in case of aggression by third parties. The talks that led to this pact reportedly began when Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Security Council, visited North Korea in September.
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