US urges China to act over transfer of N. Korean troops to Russia
The United States has shown no hesitation in sending its troops to countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon etc. It had in 1971 unsuccessfully tried to threaten India also.
Now on seeing North Korea sending it troops to Russia it feels alarmed. On Monday it has communicated with China in hopes Beijing will act in response to the transfer of North Korean troops to Russia for potential deployment to Ukraine.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States has told China that Washington is concerned about the deployment and that Beijing should also be concerned about this kind of “destabilizing action” by two of its neighbours.”
I’ll let them speak for themselves, but we have been making clear to China for some time that they have an influential voice in the region,” he said at a press briefing.
North Korea is believed to have sent about 10,000 troops to eastern Russia for training and they are likely to augment Moscow’s forces “near Ukraine over the next several weeks,” according to the U.S. Defence Department.
The department’s deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters separately that the United States believes some of the soldiers have already moved closer to Russia’s western border region of Kursk.
“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces” in the region, Singh said, adding that the latest development would have “serious implications for Europe and Indo-Pacific security.
“Earlier in the day, NATO confirmed that some of those troops have already been deployed to the region, but Singh said the United States currently has no details to share beyond that the troops are “moving that direction.
“Her comments came as the world keeps a close watch on whether North Korea will start fighting alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that such a development would be “very dangerous.
“Late last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated “it is possible that there are now more than 3,000 troops from North Korea that have been dispatched to Russia for outfitting and for training.”
“We’re looking into reports that the number could be north of that,” he said at the time, without providing a specific estimate.
