Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army on February 24, 2022, Westerners have been obsessed by a fear, which is slowing down the deployment of their aid to the invaded country: that of provoking an escalation likely to degenerate war into a larger conflict. Russia, obviously, does not have this fear. It has just proven it again by inviting thousands of North Korean soldiers to train on its soil with a view, in all likelihood, to using them as auxiliaries. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: Westerners confirm the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia Add to your selections The United States and NATO confirmed, Wednesday October 23, the deployment in Russia since the beginning of October of at least 3,000 soldiers from North Korea, arrived in Vladivostok by boat and then transferred to different training sites, confirming information provided in recent days by Ukraine and South Korea. According to kyiv, this would involve a total contingent of 12,000 men, called to intervene in support of Russian troops in the war in Ukraine. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, General Kyrylo Budanov, believes that their intervention is imminent in the Kursk theater, a Russian region where Ukrainian troops have been present since their surprise attack launched on August 6. This is a major development in this war in the heart of Europe. It is first of all the first signal of a concrete internationalization of the conflict; if, on both sides, the belligerents benefit from the aid of their allies – Westerners for Ukraine, Iran, North Korea and indirectly China for Russia – this assistance has so far been limited to the equipment. The intervention of foreign troops is a line that no state has yet dared to cross: the mention, in February, by President Emmanuel Macron, of the possibility of sending military instructors to Ukraine had sparked intense controversy in Europe and was not followed up. Destabilizing maneuvers The Pentagon has indicated that if North Korean soldiers took part in the fighting, they would logically be considered “legitimate targets”. The American Secretary of Defense, LLoyd Austin, who sees this call for help as a sign of weakness from Moscow, warned of the consequences of such internationalization not only for Europe but also for Indo -Peaceful. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers War in Ukraine: the announced deployment of North Korean soldiers, an unprecedented escalation Add to your selections South Korea is, in fact, monitoring the movements of North Korean troops very closely. This development also places China in a delicate position: an ally of Pyongyang, Beijing does not appreciate the destabilizing maneuvers of dictator Kim Jong-un in the region. At the same time, although close ally of Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping seeks to pose as a peacemaker in the Ukrainian crisis, claiming not to deliver any direct military aid to Moscow; such an escalation on the part of its two allies contradicts this image. The other concern of the West, as well as, no doubt, of Beijing, is to know what North Korea obtains from Moscow in exchange for its troops and its weapons – according to General Boudanov, the volumes of aid from Pyongyang in matters artillery are incommensurate with those of Russia’s other allies; their deliveries result in an intensification of fighting on the front in the eight days following their arrival. The most likely thing is that North Korean aid is paid for in the transfer of Russian nuclear technology: that would be bad news for everyone. Le Monde Reuse this content
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