At the same time, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have not yet confirmed the information about the participation of DPRK troops, although Austin expressed concern.
The message about the possibility of involving thousands of North Korean soldiers Russian armed forces to participate in the war in Ukraine has caused a new surge in discussions about the possible deployment of European troops in support of Kiev.
This is reported by Politico.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis commented that European countries should rethink French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to send troops to Ukraine.
“If the data on the participation of soldiers from North Korea and the supply of ammunition to the Russians is confirmed, then we need to return to Macron's proposals again,” Landsbergis noted, emphasizing the importance of this topic.
The idea of sending troops was first floated in February, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denied the possibility of European or NATO troops being deployed in Ukraine.
So far, Western leaders have expressed caution regarding the information. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have not yet confirmed the information about the possible involvement of North Korean troops, although Austin has expressed concern.
South Korea is already planning to send representatives to NATO headquarters to discuss its intelligence on North Korean troop movements. However, some European officials believe that the West is being too cautious in its actions.
Riho Terhas, a former commander of the Estonian armed forces and a member of the European Parliament, argues that the West is using doubts about the reliability of intelligence information as an excuse for inaction. He noted that integrating North Korean troops into Russian units could be a difficult operational task without having a significant impact on the course of the fighting. Terhas also stressed that Europe should seriously consider the possibility of sending its troops into Ukraine.
“It is important to have this as an option,” he added, noting that this option could be useful if the conflict continues.
Recall that South Korea's Permanent Representative to the UN, Johnkook Hwang, said that Russia could “pay off” North Korea for its military's participation in the war against Ukraine with nuclear military technologies.
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