The deployment of some 10,000 North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk region marks a qualitative shift in the Ukraine war, further internationalizing the conflict while also undermining regional stability in Asia, the European Union’s lead foreign policy spokesperson said Monday.
The North Koreans entering the fray risks dangerously escalating the nearly 3-year-old conflict and is yet “another sign that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will stop at nothing” to aggravate the situation, EU spokesperson Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels.
The remarks follow media reports that Russia has reportedly also been recruiting hundreds of mercenaries from Yemen as it looks to reduce the conflict’s impact on its own population amid growing war fatigue.