Blinken to Discuss North Korean Troops in Russia’s War Against Ukraine with EU and NATO

During his visit to Europe, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will discuss with allies and partners in the EU and NATO the situation regarding Russia's involvement of DPRK forces in the war against Ukraine.

This was stated by Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State Vedant Patel at a briefing the day before.

‘The United States is consulting closely with our allies and partners and other countries in the region on the implications of this development. As you all know, the Secretary of State is, of course, on her way to Europe for meetings at NATO and the European Union, where I have no doubt this topic will be raised and discussed, and we will continue to consult in close coordination with allies and partners,’ Vedant Patel said.

He added that, at President Biden's direction, the United States will also continue to increase security assistance to Ukraine.

The Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department confirmed the earlier information about the presence of 10,000 DPRK soldiers in Russia. Most of them have already been deployed to the Kursk region near the border with Ukraine and have begun to take direct part in the fighting on the side of Russia.

Russian troops have trained the DPRK soldiers in artillery, UAV operations and basic infantry operations, including trench clearance, which are critical skills for fighting on the frontline.

‘However, Russia's success on the battlefield using these DPRK troops will largely depend on how well the Russians can integrate them into their armed forces. Among the challenges they will have to overcome are interoperability, language barriers, command and control, and communications,’ Patel said.