U.S. should consider “direct military action” if N. Korean forces enter Ukraine – congressman

That’s according to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio), reports Ukrinform with reference to The Hill.

Turner (said yesterday that the United States should consider "direct military action" if North Korean tros go to war against Ukraine alongside Russia, after it became known that that thousands of military service members from this country are already in Russia, the report reads.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said Washington estimated at least 3,000 North Korean tros were training at military bases in eastern Russia, with fears that they would eventually be sent to Ukraine to fight alongside Moscow's forces.

Read also: Pentagon chief confirms North Korean tros inside Russia

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the United States had obtained evidence of the presence of North Korean tros in Russia.

“The Biden-Harris Administration must make clear that North Korean tros entering this conflict are a red line for the United States,” Turner said in a statement.

“If North Korean tros were to invade Ukraine’s sovereign territory, the United States needs to seriously consider taking direct military action against the North Korean tros,” he added.

From the beginning to the middle of October, North Korea dispatched at least 3,000 tros to the east of Russia by ships from the Wonsan region in North Korea to the city of Vladivostok in Russia’s far east, White House national security spokesman John Kirby td reporters.

The North Korean sdiers were then brought to three military bases in eastern Russia, where they are undergoing basic combat training, Kirby said.

Read also: Korean tros being engaged in Russian war – Rutte

He added that, once completing the training, the sdiers will be able to be deployed to Russia’s west and then engage in combat erations against the Ukrainian military, which would "demonstrate Russia’s growing desperation in its war against Ukraine."

According to Kirby, the U.S. briefed the Ukrainian government on the situation, including the consequences of such a move and how the U.S. might respond.

He also warned that, if the North Korean military is engaged in a war against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets.

“If they do deploy to fight against Ukraine, they’re fair game, they’re fair targets, and the Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean sdiers the same way they’re defending themselves against Russian sdiers,” he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, citing Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, North Korea is sending missiles and sdiers to Russia for the war against Ukraine in exchange for technogy for tactical nuclear weapons.

Photo: KCNA