INTERNACIONAL
US says 8,000 North Korean soldiers to begin combat operations in war with Ukraine ‘in coming days’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Thursday that 8,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia are expected to begin combat operations against Ukrainian troops in Kursk «in the coming days.»
The secretary said that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers believed to have been sent to Russia for training, 80% of that force is now in the Kursk region, where Ukraine first launched an incursion in August.
Ukraine has since captured and held onto roughly 460 square miles according to reports earlier this month, not only prompting civilian evacuations from the region but also forcing Russia to fight its war on its own territory.
Soldiers march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
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Blinken, speaking alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts in a joint press conference Thursday, said Russia has been training the North Korean troops in artillery and UAV basic infantry operations like trench clearing in an indication that Moscow «fully intend[s] to use these forces in frontline operations.»
The Russian military has also apparently provided these troops with uniforms and equipment in what Austin also said «strongly indicates that Russia intends to use these foreign forces in frontline operations in its war of choice against Ukraine.»
Damage following what local authorities called a Ukrainian military strike in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk Region, Russia, in this handout image released on Aug. 6, 2024. (Acting Governor of Kursk Region Alexei Smirnov via Telegram/Handout via Reuters)
«[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been throwing more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making in Ukraine. Now he’s turning to North Korean troops, and that is a clear sign of weakness,» Blinken said.
The secretary also said Russian troops are seeing record high casualty rates with some 1,200 casualties reported a day in eastern Ukraine – a rate that is more than Russia has endured at any other time since the war began more than two and half years ago.
North Korean soldiers participate in a demonstration of the Korean People’s Army’s air and amphibious combat units, in this picture released on March 16 by the Korean Central News Agency. (Reuters/KCNA)
The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, first confirmed by the Pentagon a week ago, is the first time in 100 years that Russia has invited foreign troops onto its soil, confirmed Blinken.
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When pressed by reporters about whether Ukrainian forces can continue to hold onto the territory in Kursk, Austin said simply, «Yes.»
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a news conference at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
«If you take a look at what I said earlier in terms of the numbers of casualties that Russia is suffering on a daily basis… [and] you do the math on a given month – those are pretty big numbers,» Austin said. «Ten thousand pales in comparison to those kinds of casualties.»
Blinken said additional security assistance will be announced for Ukraine in «the coming days.»
The joint address came just hours after North Korea on Thursday also launched its longest ever intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) roughly 620 miles over an 86-minute period in the direction of the East Sea, reported Japanese authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un smile during their meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Austin told reporters on Thursday he did not believe Russia had any involvement in the latest missile test but said the U.S. is continuing to work with allies and partners in the region to analyze the missile launch. Though Austin also warned that North Korea’s partnership with Russia is likely to «embolden» it.
«[North Korea] stands a chance of gaining in this exchange,» Austin said in reference to its partnership with Russia. «This is something we’re going to have to continue to watch very, very closely.
«It will… potentially embolden them to do more of the kinds of things that we’ve seen them do here recently,» he added in reference to the ICBM launch.
Daños
Un soldado ucraniano de la 28ª Brigada Mecanizada Separada se retira tras disparar una granada propulsada por cohete (RPG) contra las fuerzas rusas cerca de Bakhmut el 20 de marzo de 2023. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
Funeral de Yaroslav Yarotskyi, de 25 años, que murió junto a otros ocho soldados ucranianos cuando un dron impactó contra su posición en una trinchera del frente en la región de Luhansk, en noviembre de 2023. (Mauricio Lima para The New York Times)
Soldados de la Legión Internacional utilizan un sistema antidrones para interferir frecuencias cerca de una posición rusa en el bosque de Serebrianka, en el este de Ucrania, el 6 de febrero de 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
Soldados ucranianos instalan su puesto avanzado de drones en las ruinas de una granja cerca de la ciudad de Kreminna, en el este de Ucrania, el 1 de marzo de 2024. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times)
Una unidad de artillería de la 95ª Brigada de Asalto Aéreo Separada de Ucrania dispara un obús contra las tropas rusas que intentan capturar Toretsk, en la región de Donetsk, en el este de Ucrania, el 13 de julio de 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
El 108º Batallón Separado «Lobos Da Vinci» de Ucrania entrena con drones terrestres no tripulados en la región de Donbás, Ucrania, 21 de febrero de 2025. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
El soldado ucraniano Roman Lozynskyi llora sobre el féretro de su amigo y compañero Dmytro Pashchuck, en Khlivchany, Ucrania, el 15 de marzo de 2023.Batalla naval
Drones marinos en un lugar no revelado de Ucrania el 6 de diciembre de 2023.
Reacción
Respuestas
Pope Francis on Thursday shared his first audio message since being hospitalized nearly three weeks ago for double pneumonia, expressing thanks to his well-wishers around the world.
Francis sent a short, two-line recorded message made at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which was played Thursday evening at the start of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
«I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square,» he said in a message that was translated from Spanish to English. «I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.»
The pope has shared written messages via the Vatican since being admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14, but Thursday was the first time his voice had been heard.
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Francis’ condition remained stable and «guarded» Thursday, a day when the pontiff did not have difficulty breathing and remained fever-free.
The pope had a «good night» and continued physical therapy at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for his third week of treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said Thursday.
«Today, the Holy Father dedicated himself to some work activities during the morning and afternoon, alternating rest and prayer,» the Vatican said. «Before lunch, he received the Eucharist.»
The next update on Francis’ condition will come Saturday, the Vatican said, because of his stable condition.
Pope Francis waves from the central loggia of St. Peter’s basilica during the Easter ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message and blessing to the City and the World as part of the Holy Week celebrations, in the Vatican on March 31, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool/AFP/Getty)
«The night passed quietly; the Pope is still resting,» the Holy See press office said earlier Thursday, adding that the Pope’s «clinical condition has remained stable for the last couple of days, and his doctors say he has not had more episodes of respiratory insufficiency.»
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been stable for two days after suffering a pair of respiratory crises on Monday. Doctors underlined that his prognosis remained guarded due to the complex picture.
In recent days, he has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery. He has been transitioning to receiving oxygen with a nasal tube during the day.
The pope on Wednesday marked the start of Lent by receiving ashes on his forehead and by calling the parish priest in Gaza, the Vatican said. He also added physical therapy to his hospital routine of respiratory therapy.
The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season without the pope’s participation. A cardinal took his place leading a short penitential procession between two churches on the Aventine Hill and opened an Ash Wednesday sermon prepared for the pontiff with words of solidarity and thanks.
Girls, with ashes on their foreheads, pray during a rosary prayer for Pope Francis’ health in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality. It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season, leading to Easter on April 20.
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The pope was supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in «spiritual communion» with him. The theme, selected before Francis got sick, was «Hope in eternal life.»
Mexican painter Roberto Marquez places a painting of Pope Francis he made outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome on Ash Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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