North Korean troops despatched to assist the Russian army in its invasion of Ukraine shall be “cannon fodder,” the Pentagon claims.
At a Tuesday press convention, a reporter pressed the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, to touch upon rumors of North Korean building and engineering corps set to enter Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
Ryder didn’t dispute the potential of North Korean army personnel getting into the area, saying it was “definitely one thing to keep watch over.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s chief Kim Jong Un assessment an honor guard through the official welcome ceremony within the Kim Il Sung Sq. in Pyongyang. (Korean Central Information Company/Korea Information Service by way of AP)
“I believe that if I have been North Korean army personnel administration, I’d be questioning my decisions on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an unlawful struggle in opposition to Ukraine,” stated Ryder.
South Korean outlet TV Chosun first reported that North Korea was planning to ship the engineering corps to occupied Ukraine, citing a South Korean official.
Earlier this month, Russia entered right into a defensive pact with North Korea that obligates each nations to defend one another from army adversaries “immediately.”
Ukrainian servicemen of the twenty first Separate Mechanized Brigade fireplace a Leopard 2A6 tank throughout a army train close to a entrance line in Donetsk area, Ukraine. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
“If one of many two sides is positioned beneath struggle conditions as a consequence of an armed invasion from a person nation or a number of nations, the opposite aspect gives army and different help immediately by mobilizing all means in its possession,” the settlement states.
South Korean officers have been outspokenly important of the pact, characterizing it as a direct menace to their nationwide safety.
No express settlement was printed concerning North Korean involvement within the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, however President Vladimir Putin thanked supreme chief Kim Jong Un for his “unwavering help” within the battle.
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Servicemen of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanised Brigade fireplace a French MO-120-RT heavy mortar on the Russian forces on the entrance line close to the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk area. (Iryna Rybakova by way of AP)
Putin’s regime has lengthy sought to push the narrative that its invasion of Ukraine is a defensive struggle, retaking territory that rightfully belongs to Russia.
This characterization – accepted by Kim’s regime – might open the door to justifying North Korean involvement beneath the mutual protection pact.
A person in South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s workplace, talking on background, beforehand advised the press that South Korea will take into account offering arms to Ukraine following the pact as a political retaliation.
