According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has sent 1,500 special operations forces (SOF) soldiers to Russia, with more expected in the near future. In total, North Korea has decided to send 12,000 soldiers to Russia, according to the intelligence service.
The soldiers have been provided with Russian military uniforms, weapons, and forged identification documents. The documents are forged in order to conceal the fact that the soldiers are from North Korea.
If and when these Korean soldiers reach the front lines, it would represent a dangerous escalation of the war, shifting from a conflict between two states to an alliance-based attack on a single nation. This would be somewhat similar to the origins of World War I, where more and more countries became involved in a fight that initially started between two nations — Serbia and Austria-Hungary. However, the timeline is longer in this case.
That’s why it’s interesting to see how leading Western countries - especially USA - and NATO will respond to North Korea’s involvement in this situation. Will Putin's army be allowed to strengthen with the help of an ally, or will there be countermeasures? And if there are countermeasures, what will they be?
Personally, I find it more likely that the U.S. will agree that Ukraine may use the weapons it has received from them for strikes on Russian territory if it wishes. It is also quite possible that Western nations will declare a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace and shoot down any military equipment that enters it.
However, I do not consider it even remotely possible that any Western nation would deploy its own military forces for combat operations in Ukraine, let alone direct military threats at North Korea. But I could be wrong.
So, we are living in tense times right now. It’s not entirely impossible that the situation could spiral out of control for both Putin and the leaders of Western nations, turning into something that no one really wanted.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Western Countries Must Stay United Against the Russian Threat
Putin's understanding and the battle between the gods
Military advice: Ukraine needs modern tanks
Western leaders do not allow Ukraina to Hit on Russian soil with Western weapons. They are afraid of escalation.
ReplyDeleteThe Best way to de-escalate is for Russians to withdraw Inside their own borders.
Note that Putin's guiding principle is: "Russia's borders do not end anywhere".
DeleteHe is stopped only by force, just like other dictators.