Tag: north korea

US Must Weigh ‘Direct Military Action’ If North Korean Forces Enter Ukraine: House Intelligence Chair

The United States should consider “direct military action” in Ukraine if North Korean troops invade, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Oct. 23.

Turner, one of the 101 House Republicans who voted in favor of sending more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine in April, urged the Biden administration to make it clear that North Korea’s involvement in the war would be a “red line for the United States.”

“If North Korean troops were to invade Ukraine’s sovereign territory, the United States needs to seriously consider taking direct military action against the North Korean troops,” Turner said in a statement posted to X.

The congressman further argued that North Korea’s entry into the war would justify allowing Ukraine to fight back with U.S.-supplied weapons.

Ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the White House in September, it was widely anticipated that President Joe Biden might clear the way for Ukraine to strike Russian targets with Western long-range missiles, but those restrictions remained in place after the talk.

“I have long challenged the Biden–Harris Administration’s unwise position on restricting Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons against targets within Russian territory,” Turner said in his statement. “If North Korean troops attack Ukraine from Russian territory, Ukraine should be permitted to use American weapons to respond.”

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Exposing The Hypocrisy Of South Korea’s Response To Rumors Of The North Fighting Ukraine

It’s surprising that South Korea prefers for there to be more North Korean troops along the DMZ to fight against in the event that war resumes than in Ukraine and is even willing to deplete some of its gargantuan stockpiles that it’s built up to prepare for that worst-case scenario just for Kiev’s sake.

The claims that North Korea sent troops to fight Ukraine, which have been circulating for the past two weeks and were recently analyzed here, have elicited a hypocritical response from South Korea. Its Deputy Foreign Minister first summoned the Russian Ambassador to demand the immediate withdrawal of its northern neighbor’s troops. This was then followed by a senior presidential aide telling the media that Seoul might soon send defensive and possibly even offensive arms to Ukraine if they don’t leave.

The first half implies that South Korea prefers for there to be more troops to fight against in the event that war resumes than for them to be abroad fighting Ukraine, while the second implies that it’s willing to deplete its stockpiles that were gathered for use against the North in order to help Kiev. Seoul has thus far resisted pressure upon it to send shells for supplying NATO’s proxy against Russia, at least officially, but the latest claims (irrespective of their veracity) might serve to move the needle on this.

South Korea has one of the world’s largest shell stockpiles, which could perpetuate the Ukrainian Conflict by replenishing Kiev’s forces at this critical moment when Western supplies are becoming exhausted, but it’s hitherto preferred to hold onto them in case war resumes with the North. Any change in this calculation would be significant since it would suggest that South Korea no longer assesses that there’s a high risk of that possibly happening anytime soon like has been the case for decades already.

It would also imply that South Korea finally feels comfortable enough depleting some of its gargantuan stockpiles for Ukraine’s sake even though one might have thought that it would hold on to them amidst rumors that North Korea has already sent shells, missiles, and now troops to Russia. After all, everything that North Korea reportedly gives to Russia is something less that it keeps in reserve for possible use against South Korea, yet Seoul’s hypocritical response contradicts that logic.

Seeing as how its interests aren’t served by having more North Korean troops and equipment along the DMZ, this can only mean that ulterior motives are responsible, namely US pressure upon South Korea to help perpetuate the Ukrainian Conflict as it approaches what might soon become a turning point. Russia is winning the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” by far, so much so that even CNN recently drew attention to this. There’s thus an increasingly urgent need for Ukraine to obtain South Korean shells.

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Are North and South Korea escalating toward war?

A series of escalatory events on the Korean peninsula have intensified tensions between the two Koreas in recent weeks.

On October 13, Seoul and Pyongyang exchanged harsh verbal threats of military action over alleged drone incursions from South Korea into the northern capital. According to North Korea’s claim, the South Korean drone scattered anti-regime propaganda leaflets across Pyongyang.

Exactly who was behind the drone infiltrations remains unclear, but analysts have speculated that the South Korean military or South Korea-based anti-North activists could be involved.

The incident prompted Pyongyang to order its border troops to prepare for military retaliation if South Korean drones were to infiltrate again, threatening a “horrible disaster.” In turn, Seoul also put its frontline military on high alert, with a defense ministry statement that “if North Korea inflicts any harm on the safety of South Koreans, that day will be the end of the North Korean regime.”

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House Intel Chair Mike Turner Slams Biden-Harris Regime for Failing to Brief Congress on North Korean Troop Movements into Russia, Demands Red Line Against Ukraine Aggression

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) delivered a scathing rebuke of the Biden-Harris Administration, accusing it of failing to provide Congress with critical intelligence on the recent movement of North Korean troops into Russian territory.

Turner issued a letter to Joe Biden demanding immediate action and transparency as tensions escalate over North Korea’s growing military involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Turner expressed deep concerns over reports that North Korea has mobilized thousands of soldiers in support of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, calling the situation a “dangerous and extreme escalation.”

Chairman Turner emphasized that the Biden administration has kept Congress in the dark, neglecting to brief key intelligence and defense committees about the alarming developments.

In his letter to the president, Turner cited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent warnings at NATO headquarters, where Zelenskyy alerted world leaders that North Korea has deployed roughly 10,000 troops prepared to join Russia’s fight against Ukraine.

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NATO – US, UK and Germany – about to authorise direct strikes on Russia cities and military bases – North Korea to send a few hundred thousand troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine?

Selensky is about to return from delivering his “victory plan” to BATO leaders – seeking authorisation to use long-range missiles – controlled by NATO from targeting to launch – that can strike deep into Russia.

This will, presumably, provoke a direct response by Russia to return fire on military bases and cities in the US, UK ad Germany – plus other NATO countries.

Russia and China are engaged in anti-submarine ad is well prepared to invade Taiwan with other naval exercises around the whole of Taiwan.

The UK is active threatening European countries like Georgia to become more belligerent.

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Drones Penetrate North Korean Air Defenses To Drop Propaganda Leaflets On Pyongyang

North Korea has accused South Korea of using drones to scatter propaganda leaflets over its capital, Pyongyang. The incident today comes after waves of excrement and trash-filled balloons launched by North Korea into the South, which started this summer, and during a period of overall worsening tensions on the peninsula overall.

Photos released by the North Korean state news agency KCNA are of fairly poor quality, but appear to show triangular objects, perhaps broadly similar in configuration to the Israeli Harop long-range one-way attack drone. Other views suggest not so much a delta-wing platform as a swept-winged one, reminiscent of the U.S.-made ScanEagle long-endurance, low-altitude drone. It could also be the case that a variety of different drones were used for the airdrop mission.

These drones, in turn, are shown seemingly releasing small objects. The news agency describes these objects as “scattered leaflets,” or as “bundles of leaflets.”

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North Korea Wading Deeper Into Russia’s War Against Ukraine

North Korea appears to be getting more deeply involved in the Ukraine war, going beyond supplying Russia with munitions. Its military engineers “have been deployed to help Russia target Ukraine with ballistic missiles” it provided to Russia, The Guardian reported, citing senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul.

Dozens of North Koreans are behind Russian lines, “in teams that support launcher systems for KN-23 [short-range ballistic] missiles,” a source in Ukraine told the publication. As we reported earlier this year, North Korea began supplying Russia with those missiles, also known as Hwasong-11s, but about half were defective, according to an analysis from Ukrainian state prosecutors.

South Korea’s Defense Minister, Kim Yong-hyun, told members of parliament in Seoul this week that it was “highly likely” that North Korean officers had been deployed to fight alongside Russians, and as we previously reported, several had died last week in an attack on a Russian base in the Donetsk region. He did not give further details.

The head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, concurred. In a post on Telegram, he said that some North Koreans had been killed in Ukraine. His organization is part of the National Security and Defense Council.

All this comes in the wake of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin where the two men bolstered their deepening ties with a secret arms deal. It was reported that, among other things, it called for Pyongyang to send construction and engineering forces to Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine for rebuilding work. There was no indication of how many personnel would be involved or the exact nature of their work.

The increasing evidence of North Korean troops in Ukraine marks a big escalation. Foreigners have fought as mercenaries for Russia, “but if North Koreans are on the ground it would mark the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform to support Moscow’s war,” the Guardian noted

“North Korea is likely to deploy members of its regular armed forces to Ukraine in support of Russia, South Korea’s defense chief said Tuesday, in the latest sign of deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow…

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Putin Signs Military Assistance Deal With North Korea

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military assistance pact with North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un during the former’s visit to Pyongyang.

The deal promises “immediate military assistance” from either should the other be attacked. Due to Russia’s vast size compared to North Korea, this seemingly provides a security guarantee to the latter, though it is unclear what exact form the promised “protection” and “military and other assistance” would take should hostilities on the Korean peninsula break out. Kim described the treaty as an “alliance,” although Putin did not. 

While many of the terms are still unknown, Putin stated that he would not “exclude the development of military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in accordance with the document signed today.”

Throughout most of his presidency, Putin has worked with China and the United States to contain North Korea, especially with regard to nuclear weapons. This current deal between Russia and North Korea seems to mark the end of any U.S.-Russia partnership to contain North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

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North Korea Deports US Soldier Who Tried To Defect Over ‘Racism’

North Korea on Wednesday deported the American soldier who tried to defect by bolting across the demilitarized zone from South Korea earlier this year. 23-year old US Army soldier Travis King was among a group of tourists when he ran across the border and was immediately taken into North Korean custody in the July incident.

King, who had actually been facing Army disciplinary action after spending two months in a South Korean jail on assault charges, claimed he was running from “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the US Army.

King’s statement to the North Koreans also said he was “disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society.” It seems he was trying to gain sympathy by playing into Pyongyang’s standard propaganda narrative about the West. Two US officials have confirmed to the Associated Press that King is now back in American custody.

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The Bizarre Reality of Getting Online in North Korea

FOR 25 MILLION North Koreans, the internet is an impossibility. Only a few thousand privileged members of the hermit kingdom’s society can access the global internet, while even the country’s heavily censored internal intranet is out of reach for the majority of the population. Getting access to free and open information isn’t an option.

New research from South Korea-based human rights organization People for Successful Corean Reunification (Pscore) details the reality for those who—in very limited circumstances—manage to get online in North Korea. The report reveals a days-long approval process to gain internet access, after which monitors sit next to people while they browse and approve their activities every five minutes. Even then, what can be accessed reveals little about the world outside North Korea’s borders.

Documentation from the NGO is being presented today at the human rights conference RightsCon and sheds light on the regime with the most limited internet freedoms, which fall far below the restrictive and surveilled internet access in China and Iran. For millions of people in North Korea, the internet simply doesn’t exist.

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