The West has almost nothing to respond to the sending of North Korean troops to Russia – Bloomberg

Russia’s decision to deploy North Korean troops to bolster its forces has made Ukraine’s allies realize they have few options to respond to the move without further escalating the conflict. Bloomberg reports this.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed the transfer of North Korean army personnel to Russia after senior South Korean officials called it a “significant escalation” of Pyongyang’s involvement in the war at a briefing in Brussels on Monday, the agency reported. North Korea is sending about 10 thousand of its troops to the Kursk region, additional deployment is possible, the Pentagon press secretary said Sabrina Singh told reporters today. Last weekend the President of the United States Joe BidenIn turn, he told reporters that “we have options, it depends on what they do.”

Choosing how to respond to the transfer of North Korean troops to Russia could lead to disagreements between the United States and its allies, the agency emphasizes.

South Korea is considering sending weapons directly to Ukraine, reversing its policy of banning lethal aid to a country at war, a senior South Korean official said. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on social media earlier in October that the French idea of ​​sending Western personnel to Ukraine “must now be reconsidered, better late than never.” Another option for the United States would be to lift restrictions on long-range strikes by Ukraine on Russian territory, “but this will force us to rethink what used to be the red line for the Biden team.”

“Washington’s core philosophy of calculating risk and reward when it comes to escalation and benefits for the Ukrainians probably remains roughly the same,” said the chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security in Washington. Richard Fontaine in Washington.

Sanctions against Moscow and Pyongyang have already been introduced, and the allies’ weapons stocks are depleted, Bloomberg notes. Another option being discussed is to allow allies such as Poland and Romania to protect Ukrainian airspace, a source familiar with the talks said.

“Thus, the United States and Europe have few ways in which they can respond to North Korean intervention without further escalating the conflict,” the publication emphasizes.

It is also noted that the allies are unlikely to be able to make any significant decisions before the US elections on November 5, another agency source added.

US and European officials still do not know exactly how North Korean troops will be used in Russia. President of Russia Vladimir Putin most likely, will use them to strengthen defense inside Russia in response to the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, said Anne Marie Dalyresearcher of Russian politics and military affairs at Rand. This means that Putin will not need to withdraw troops from the front line in the east to defend the Kursk region, she added.

However, as for options for the US and Europe, “these are the same tools that have been there all along,” including providing more military aid or using frozen Russian assets in turn, Fontaine summarizes.