Committee Chair: NATO must consider action against North Korea in Ukraine

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner has urged the United States and its NATO allies to be prepared to take direct military action against North Korean troops should they become involved in combat operations in Ukraine alongside Russian forces.

He emphasized that the presence of North Korean forces in Ukraine should serve as a significant warning for the US and its allies, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Speaking on the potential implications of North Korean involvement, Turner stated, "I think the United States and NATO allies should seriously discuss and consider attacking directly North Korean troops that are in Ukraine and that are attacking Ukraine." 

Turner further asserted that Ukraine has the right to retaliate against Russian assaults by targeting deep within Russian territory with weapons supplied by allies. "North Korean troops do not belong in Europe attacking another European nation," he added, highlighting the need for NATO to defend its interests.

He elaborated, "I think it is in NATO's interest and certainly the United States' interests as a member of NATO that Asian North Korean communist troops should not be marching into a European country and attacking it."

Although he acknowledged that a decision to engage North Korean troops does not need immediate action, he stressed, "A valid discussion should be had," regarding their status as military targets.

Notably, this statement comes in the wake of reports that approximately 8,000 North Korean soldiers are currently stationed in Russia's Kursk Oblast, with estimates indicating that North Korea has deployed around 10,000 troops to Russia to assist in combat operations against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the current Western response to North Korea's involvement as "zero," underscoring the urgency of the situation.

By Aghakazim Guliyev