The West has almost no response to sending North Korean troops to Russia – Bloomberg

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

Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte confirmed the transfer of North Korean military personnel to Russia after a briefing by senior South Korean officials in Brussels on Monday called it a “significant escalation” of Pyongyang’s entry into the war, the agency reported. North Korea is sending about 10,000 troops to the Kursk region and additional deployments are possible, Pentagon spokeswoman says Sabrina Singh told reporters today. Last weekend the American president Joe Bidenin turn, told reporters that “we have options, it depends on what they do.”

Choosing the answer, 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 pointed out.

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

“Washington’s underlying philosophy of calculating risks and rewards when it comes to escalation and benefits for Ukrainians likely remains about the same,” the CEO of the Center for a New American Security said in Richard Fontaine in Washington.

Sanctions have already been imposed on Moscow and Pyongyang and the allies’ weapons stockpiles have been depleted, Bloomberg notes. Another option under discussion is to allow allies such as Poland and Romania to protect Ukrainian airspace, a source familiar with the negotiations said.

“The United States and Europe thus have few ways in which they can respond to North Korea’s involvement without further escalating the conflict,” the publication points out.

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

U.S. and European officials are still unsure exactly how North Korean troops will be deployed in Russia. Russian president Vladimir Putin will likely use them to strengthen defenses within Russia in response to the invasion of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, said Anne Marie Dalya researcher on Russian policy and military issues at Rand. This means Putin will not have to withdraw troops from the frontline in the east to protect the Kursk region, she added.

However, in terms of options for the United States and Europe, these are “the same tools that have always been there,” including providing more military aid or using frozen Russian assets, Fontaine in turn summarizes.