Global Conflict ‘Approaching Very Rapidly,’ NATO Ally Warns

Reports of North Korean troops in Russia, possibly for deployment against Ukraine, bring a “new quality” to the grinding war and indicate that conflicts involving countries across the world “are now approaching,” Germany’s defense minister said, as the U.S. confirmed Pyongyang’s troops on Russian soil.

Speaking in London during a joint press conference with the British defense minister, John Healey, on Wednesday, Boris Pistorius said the presence of North Korean troops in Russia showed a “very important aspect” and a “new quality” to the war, more than two and a half years into the conflict. “International conflicts are now approaching very rapidly,” he added.

South Korean and Ukrainian officials said approximately 10,000 North Korean troops were being sent to Russia, including an initial batch of around 1,500 fighters. South Korea’s spy agency said on Wednesday that an estimated 3,000 personnel had arrived at Russian bases, with the remaining 7,000 to be deployed by the end of the year, according to South Korean media.

Since launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has become a pariah state for many nations in the West and around the world, drawing it closer to allies like China, Iran and North Korea.

So far, no formal military forces from a country outside the conflict has committed troops to the front lines, a move that would be a significant shift in the war and deeply worrying for Kyiv and its allies. Heading into the harsh winter season, Russia and Ukraine are looking for solutions to manpower shortages in the face of months of grueling fighting.

Pyongyang, which signed a mutual defense pact with Moscow earlier this year, has provided significant munitions and missiles for Russia’s war effort. Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, said last month that North Korea was the most dangerous of Russia’s allies for Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that there was “evidence” of North Korean troops in Russia, but it remained “to be seen” what activities they would take up. A North Korean representative to the United Nations called the reports “groundless.”

Unveiling a new joint agreement between London and Berlin, in part designed to shore up the European defenses against Russia, Healey and Pistorius said they had serious concerns over the reports of North Korean troops being deployed in Russia, but stopped short of confirming the information coming from South Korea and Ukraine in recent weeks.

It’s highly likely North Korean troops have been deployed in Russia, but it is not yet clear that they have been used in frontline fighting, Healey said. “I see this as a sign of desperation as well as a shocking escalation on North Korea’s front,” Healey said.

Both ministers said they were concerned about the development, with Healey adding that they jointly “totally condemn this as a potential escalation.”

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said last week that North Korea had sent around 1,500 special forces soldiers to the Russian port city of Vladivostok between October 8-13.

The spy agency said the North Korean soldiers, sent to a number of bases in Russia’s far east, had been equipped with Russian military uniforms, Russian-made weapons and fake documents claiming the fighters were residents of regions in Siberia.

“It appears that they disguised themselves as Russian soldiers to hide the fact that they were deployed to the battlefield,” the NIS said. The soldiers are “expected to be deployed to the front lines as soon as they complete their adaptation training,” the agency added.

Footage published online by Russian and Ukrainian sources in recent days appears to show North Korean soldiers at a Russian training ground in the far-eastern Primorsky region, which borders North Korean territory.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it had summoned Moscow’s ambassador to Seoul to demand an “immediate” withdrawal of North Korean fighters.

South Korea “condemned in the strongest terms the illegal military cooperation, including the North’s troop deployment, and sternly warned that South Korea will respond with every possible means, with the international community, to any acts that threaten the core interests of South Korea,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

In an apparent change of a long-standing policy, South Korea said on Tuesday that it would take “phased measures” against Pyongyang and Moscow, with a senior presidential official saying this could include “offensive” weapons for Ukraine.

This would mark a significant change in policy for Seoul, and it comes as Kyiv is trying to keep its artillery systems firing and air defense systems stocked with interceptor missiles.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the reports of North Korean troops arriving in Russia as “fake news” earlier this month. In fresh comments on Monday, Peskov said the reports were “contradictory,” but did not explicitly deny the allegations.

“North Korea is our close neighbor, our partner, and we are developing our relations in all areas. This is our sovereign right,” Peskov said in remarks reported by Russian state media. “This should not worry anyone, because this cooperation is not directed against third countries.”

A North Korean official told the United Nations on Tuesday that they did “not feel any need for comment on such groundless, stereotype rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly, and cooperative relations between sovereign states.” DPRK references North Korea’s official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

A Ukrainian government-backed hotline, designed for Russian soldiers wishing to surrender as prisoners of war, published an appeal on Wednesday for North Korean soldiers to “not die senselessly on foreign soil.”