Blinken expects North Korean troops to enter fight against Ukraine in coming days

WASHINGTON - The United States expects North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region to enter the fight against Ukraine in the coming days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Oct 31 as he pressed China to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang.

Mr Blinken spoke after

North Korea conducted its longest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test

earlier on Oct 31 and South Korea warned that Pyongyang could get missile technology from Russia in exchange for helping with the war in Ukraine.

Mr Blinken said Russia has been training the North Korean soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and basic infantry operations, indicating they “fully intend” to use the forces in front-line operations.

The top US diplomat said there were 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold territory after fighting their way into the Russian border area in August.

They would become legitimate military targets if they enter the battlefield, Mr Blinken said, at a press conference in Washington with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts.

“We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,” he said.

During their meeting, the US and South Korea discussed a range of options for responding, Mr Blinken added, saying Moscow’s use of North Korean soldiers in its “meat grinder” war against Ukraine was a “clear sign of weakness”.

Mr Austin said the US would announce new security assistance for Ukraine in the coming days.

Closer Russia-North Korea cooperation

Mr Blinken and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts condemned the ICBM launch as a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The flight-time of the missile was 87 minutes, according to South Korea, putting nearly all of the US within range.

The Kremlin on Oct 31 declined to comment when asked if Russia was helping North Korea to develop its missile and other military technology.

Mr Blinken said Beijing, like Washington, should be very concerned about what Russia might be doing in order to enhance North Korea’s military capacities, because it was destabilising to Asia.

Mr Austin said the Pentagon was very early in its assessment phase of the launch “and we don’t see any indication at this point that there was Russian involvement”.

Mr Blinken said the US and South Korea agreed that China should do more to curb North Korea’s provocative actions, adding that US officials had a “robust conversation” with Beijing this week.

“I think they know well the concerns that we have, and the expectations that, both in word and deed, they’ll use the influence that they have to work to curb these activities,” Mr Blinken said of Chinese officials.

Beijing, close partners with both Moscow and Pyongyang, has so far repeated calls for de-escalation by all sides and a political settlement to the conflict.

Washington says that China, which entered into a “no limits” partnership with Moscow ahead of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has been supporting the Kremlin’s war with dual-use goods to prop up the Russian defence industrial base.

China says the US makes false accusations about the country’s normal trade with Russia.

Mr Austin said Ukraine could hold on to Russian territory in Kursk, and that the number of North Korean troops pales in comparison to the number of casualties Russian forces have recently been suffering – some 1,250 a day.

“I do believe that they can hold on to the territory, if they choose to do that. They do have options,” Mr Austin said of Ukrainian troops.

Many Western analysts argue China should be alarmed by any North Korean participation in Russia’s war, saying it is a sign Pyongyang has reduced its reliance on Beijing and that its involvement would galvanise closer ties between Washington’s European and Asian allies.

Nonetheless, Mr Sydney Seiler, a former US national intelligence officer for North Korea, said China was not disturbed enough to actively oppose the deployments.

“I don’t think China openly supports this. But at the same time, they’re not going to do what’s necessary to stop it,” he said. REUTERS