Blinken urges China to rein in North Korea

1/11/2024 6:04

        The United States expects
        North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region to enter the fight
        against Ukraine in the coming days, U.S. Secretary of State
        Antony Blinken said on Thursday as he pressed China to use its
        influence to rein in Pyongyang.
        
        Blinken said Russia has been training the North Korean
        soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and
        basic infantry operations, indicating they "fully intend" to use
        the forces in frontline operations.
        
        The top U.S. diplomat said there were 10,000 North Korean
        troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the Kursk region
        where Ukrainian forces continue to hold territory after fighting
        their way into the Russian border area in August.
        
        They would become legitimate military targets if they enter
        the battlefield, Blinken said at a press conference in
        Washington with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their
        South Korean counterparts.
        
        "We've not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against
        Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the
        coming days," he said.
        
        During their meeting, the U.S. and South Korea discussed a
        range of options for responding, Blinken added, saying Moscow's
        use of North Korean soldiers in its "meat grinder" war against
        Ukraine was a "clear sign of weakness."
        
        Austin said the U.S. would announce new security assistance
        for Ukraine in coming days.
        
        The U.S. and South Korea agreed that China should do more to
        curb North Korea's provocative actions, Blinken said, adding
        that U.S. officials had a "robust conversation" with Beijing
        this week.
        
        "I think they know well the concerns that we have, and the
        expectations that, both in word and deed, they'll use the
        influence that they have to work to curb these activities,"
        Blinken said of Chinese officials.
        
        Beijing, close partners with both Moscow and Pyongyang, has
        so far repeated calls for deescalation by all sides and a
        political settlement to the conflict.
        
        Washington says China, which entered into a "no limits"
        partnership with Moscow ahead of Russia's February 2022 invasion
        of Ukraine, has been supporting the Kremlin's war with dual use
        goods to prop up the Russian defense industrial base.
        
        China says the U.S. makes false accusations about the
        country's normal trade with Russia.
        
        Austin said Ukraine could hold on to Russian territory in
        Kursk, and that the number of North Korean troops pales in
        comparison to the number of casualties Russian forces recently
        have been suffering - some 1,250 a day.
        
        "I do believe that they can hold on to the territory, if
        they choose to do that. They do have options," Austin said of
        Ukrainian troops.