The US Congress has called for direct military action if North Korea’s military becomes involved in the war against Ukraine.
The Hill reported.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said Wednesday that the United States should consider taking “direct military action” if North Korea’s military enters the war in Ukraine.
“The Biden-Harris administration should send a clear message that North Korea’s military involvement in this conflict is a red line that the United States must not cross,” Turner said. “If the North Korean military invades the sovereign territory of Ukraine, the United States should seriously consider taking direct military action against the North Korean military.”
In particular, Mike Turner proposed in a statement that the United States would allow long-range weapons attacks inside Russian territory in response to North Korean military involvement.
“I have long objected to the Biden-Harris administration’s unwise position to restrict Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons against targets inside Russia. <…> “If North Korean forces attack Ukraine from Russian territory, Ukraine should be allowed to use American weapons in retaliation,” Turner said.
AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile. 2015. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
Earlier, the White House said at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers were being trained at Russian military bases, according to Washington estimates.
“Whether these soldiers will engage Russian forces remains to be seen, but it is certainly a concern,” White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said in a statement.
When asked why the United States would not allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles, Kirby said it was still unclear whether North Korean soldiers would be sent and what impact it would have on the battlefield. He said it was too early to tell.
“We don’t know what they’re going to do, we don’t know if they’re going to engage, we don’t know what kind of forces they have,” he explained, adding that the U.S. Ta. Countries will closely monitor the situation and continue to increase security assistance to Kyiv.
Earlier, Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kirillo Budanov said the first North Korean soldiers could arrive in Kursk Oblast within days.
“We expect the first troops to arrive in the Kursk direction tomorrow (October 23, 2024),” Budanov told Warzone.
