North Korean troops in Russia are legitimate targets - US State Dept

Photo: Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the US Department of State (Getty Images)

North Korea already has casualties among its soldiers in the Kursk region. The potential deployment of North Korean troops to Ukraine to participate in combat will be seen as an escalation, Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the US Department of State, reports during the briefing. RBC-Ukraine informs.

In particular, Miller was asked whether North Korean soldiers would be legitimate targets for Ukraine if they crossed the border.

In response, the representative of the Department of State noted that, in the opinion of the US, "the North Korean soldiers who were deployed to Kursk are already legitimate targets."

"They entered a war, and they are, as such, combatants and are legitimate targets for the Ukrainian military," Miller emphasized.

According to the Spokesperson for the US Department of State, he had already seen evidence of North Korean soldiers killed on the battlefield within Russian territory.

"And if they were to cross the border into Ukraine, that would be yet another escalation by the Government of Russia and also an escalation by the Government of North Korea to send North Korean troops to prosecute a war of aggression against an independent, sovereign nation inside that nation's borders," Miller said.

The Spokesperson for the US Department of State believes this would be a clear escalation by the North Korean government. For this reason, the United States has, in recent weeks, taken steps to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities.

"And we will continue to do so," Miller concluded.

North Korean troops in Kursk region

Yesterday, President Zelenskyy stated that Russia had begun using North Korean soldiers in battles in the Kursk region. The Head of state noted that North Korean troops had already suffered losses.

The Pentagon also confirmed that among the North Korean soldiers deployed to the Kursk region, there are both killed and wounded.

Нагадаємо: Військових з КНДР зафіксували на Харківському напрямку.