North Korean soldiers are not only on Russian soil, but have been deployed in Russia's Kursk region on the Ukrainian border. What exactly does this mean?
This week, the Pentagon confirmed this was all but true — a total of about 10,000 North Korea n troops are currently in Russia .
The Pentagon's announcement is the first US confirmation of a North Korean deployment in the region, where Ukrainian troops have been conducting a ground offensive since August and control approximately 500 square kilometres of Russian territory. Justin Hastings, a professor of International Relations at The University of Sydney, said the development marks the first time another country has formally sent actual troops of its own to fight in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
"Russia is desperate for additional manpower, and this is one element of Russia's effort to fill the ranks without a second mobilisation," it added, noting the presence could grow. "If you want actual combats troops for the front line, you need a fair number of people. And so I assume that is why they sent that number."
Moscow was also continuing to provide technical support for North Korea's attempts to field a fleet of spy satellites, the politicians said. "Supporting an act of aggression, which completely violates the principles of the UN Charter, is illegal," South Korea's UN ambassador Joonkook Hwang said. "And so the extent Russia is equipping them is illegal under UN sanctions. It is also illegal under UN sanction to buy ammo or any kind of weapons from North Korea, so Russia using North Korean missiles and ammunition are all illegal under UN sanctions," he said.
Both are under sanctions — Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons program, and Moscow for its war against Kyiv. North Korea's deployment to Russia to aid its war against Ukraine has the potential to lengthen the conflict and draw in additional actors, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
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