House Intelligence Chair suggests direct military action may be necessary if North Korean forces enter Ukraine

October 24, 2024 TruthUSA

The White House stated that it is premature to determine the impact of a North Korean military presence in Russia.

If North Korean troops invade, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, believes that the United States should contemplate “direct military action” in Ukraine.

Turner, along with 101 House Republicans who voted in favor of sending over $60 billion in aid to Ukraine in April, urged the Biden administration to establish that North Korea’s involvement in the conflict would be a “red line for the United States.”

“If North Korean troops were to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty, the United States must seriously consider taking direct military action against them,” Turner said in a statement posted on X.

The congressman argued that if North Korea enters the war, it would justify allowing Ukraine to defend itself with U.S.-supplied weapons.

Prior to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the White House in September, there were expectations that President Joe Biden might authorize Ukraine to target Russian sites with Western long-range missiles. However, these restrictions remained in place after the meeting.

“I have consistently challenged the Biden-Harris Administration’s decision to limit Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons against Russian targets,” Turner stated. “If North Korean troops attack Ukraine from Russian territory, Ukraine should have the right to retaliate using American weapons.”

John Kirby, national security spokesman at the White House, confirmed on Wednesday that U.S. intelligence had observed the movement of at least 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia’s Far East from early to mid-October. He stated that these soldiers arrived in Vladivostok by ship and were then relocated to three military bases for training and familiarization.

“Once their training is completed, these troops could be sent to western Russia to engage in combat against the Ukrainian military,” Kirby informed reporters, adding that Washington has briefed Kyiv on the potential threat.

“If they engage in combat against Ukraine, they will be legitimate targets,” Kirby cautioned. “The Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean soldiers just as they are against Russian soldiers.”

Meanwhile, Kyiv is preparing for the eventuality of Pyongyang joining the conflict on Moscow’s side.

During an Oct. 17 NATO press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that North Korean officers and technical personnel had already been spotted in Russian-occupied territories.

“I believe they initially sent officers to assess the situation before deploying troops,” Zelenskyy said to reporters.

The presence of North Korean troops would solidify the developing alliance between the two neighboring nations, which have a mutual defense treaty similar to NATO’s, pledging to aid each other in the event of an attack.

The agreement was signed in June when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang, where he was welcomed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a grand ceremony. Two months later, Ukraine initiated a cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region, prompting speculation that Putin might seek Kim’s assistance in repelling Ukrainian forces from the area.

Russia has been relying on the isolated communist state to replenish its diminishing arsenal. In January, the White House reported that North Korean ballistic missiles were fired into Ukraine from Russia. The following month, the U.S. Department of State revealed that North Korea had shipped over 10,000 containers of munitions to Russia since September 2023.

In exchange, North Korea is receiving crucial food and fuel aid, while there is speculation that the Kim regime also desires enhanced access to advanced Russian military technologies to bolster its ballistic missile, space, and nuclear programs.

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