White House says North Korean troops in Ukraine are legitimate targets

The United States believes that if North Korean troops are drawn into Russia's war against Ukraine, they would be considered legitimate targets, just like Russian troops.

Source: John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor, at a briefing on Wednesday, 23 October

Details: Kirby noted that the US currently has no accurate information on why North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and whether they will actually be involved in hostilities against Ukrainian forces.

"If they [North Korean troops] do deploy to fight against Ukraine, they're fair game, they're fair targets, and the Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean soldiers the same way they're defending themselves against Russian soldiers," he added.

"And so the possibility that there could be dead and wounded North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine is absolutely real if they get deployed," the White House advisor stressed.

Background:

• On Wednesday, South Korean intelligence reported that Pyongyang has sent 3,000 troops to Russia to support Russian forces in their war against Ukraine and is also trying to isolate the families of selected soldiers in a certain place to prevent information from spreading.
• The White House later confirmed reports that there are several thousand North Korean troops in Russia.
• In this context, Germany and Austria have summoned the North Korean ambassadors.

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