Both the Kremlin and Pyongyang deny they have engaged in military transfers. And NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Friday that he could not “confirm reports that North Koreans are actively now as soldiers engaged in the war effort.”
But Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last summer signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that commits both countries to provide military assistance to each other if either is attacked. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned on Friday that Pyongyang’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict would pose a “grave security threat” to the world.
“This is a huge threat of further escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Sybiha said on Saturday, Reuters reported. “There is a big risk of it growing out of its current scale and borders,” he said.
France’s Barrot said such a move would signal that Moscow was struggling in the war. But “it would be serious and push the conflict into a new stage, an additional escalatory stage,” Barrot said.
Barrot also pledged his support for Ukraine’s plan for ending the war with Russia, saying he will work with Ukrainian officials to secure international backing for the proposal. Kyiv’s “victory plan,” which Zelenskyy unveiled earlier this week, hopes to compel Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine through negotiations.
The proposal is being considered by Ukraine’s Western partners, whose help is vital for Kyiv. A key element would be a formal invitation into NATO, which Western allies have been reluctant to consider until after the war ends.