Biden sets condition for Ukraine attacking North Korean troops

Ukrainian forces should attack North Korean soldiers it claims have entered Russia “if they cross into Ukraine,” US President Joe Biden has said.

The Pentagon claimed this week that some 10,000 soldiers from North Korea have arrived in Russia. Some are allegedly being transported for possible deployment against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk Region, where sections of Kiev’s forces remain after staging an incursion in August.

When asked by the media on Tuesday whether Kiev should “strike back” against North Korean troops, Biden responded: “If they cross into Ukraine, yes.” He did not clarify the US position should the troops remain inside what Washington recognizes as Russian territory.

Moscow and Pyongyang signed a bilateral treaty earlier this year which provides for mutual military assistance in the event of an attack by a third party. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declined to confirm or deny reports of the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. What the two nations do to meet their obligations under the new agreement is between them alone, he said in an interview last week.

In the past several months, Ukrainian forces have suffered a series of setbacks on the battlefield. Some military analysts have suggested that Kiev’s decision to send troops across the border into Kursk instead of reinforcing units in the east has contributed to the perilous situation.

Ukrainian General Dmitry Marchenko warned in an interview this week that the frontline was “collapsing” and blamed poor military leadership. The army is also suffering from a shortage of munitions and exhaustion of troops deployed in the war zone, he added.

Kiev intends to deal with its shortage of manpower by drafting an additional 160,000 soldiers over the next three months, according to officials. Earlier this year, the government overhauled the mandatory draft system, introducing harsher punishments for avoidance. Ukrainian MP Anna Skorokhod has assessed that the number of Ukrainian troops who have deserted or had gone AWOL is now over 100,000.

The Biden administration has pledged to help Kiev for “as long as it takes” to win. Moscow has called the conflict a US-led proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians serve as ‘cannon fodder’.