For over a year, Russia and its allies have been in a campaign to destabilize the United States and other democracies around the world. As the election draws nearer, Putin has stepped up his efforts to destroy Ukraine and its allies by any means.
Last Wednesday, the White House confirmed 3,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in Russia, assumed to fight in the war in Ukraine. “These soldiers then traveled onward to multiple Russian military training sites in eastern Russia where they are currently undergoing training,” according to National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby.
Earlier this month, Russian operatives were found to have created deepfakes to smear Governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, depicting a former student of Walz; accusing him of sexual abuse. Before this, Tenet Media, a company based in Tennessee, was found to have been funded by the Kremlin. Tim Pool, a semi-famous right-wing conservative influencer, was employed by Tenet Media to produce political videos.
In September of 2023, Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of North Korea, visited Russia, where both parties agreed their beliefs were aligning. This comes right after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Russia was “working on political arrangements” to employ 20,000 to 50,000 North Koreans for labor. Earlier this year in March, Kim Jong Un led military drills simulating the takeover of a South Korean border guard post. Later, he also oversaw the testing of explosive suicide drones designed to crash into targets.
So, while North Korea and Russia ramp up their military alliance, it begs the question of what their intentions are.
Russia has been stating for decades that the country of Ukraine rightfully and ethnically belongs to Russia, so we know that no land acquired by Russia will be given away to North Korea. What can the U.S. and its allies infer from North Korean soldiers traveling to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine? According to the 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S Intelligence Community, North Korea, “probably has begun shipping munitions to Russia in support of the conflict with Ukraine in exchange for diplomatic, economic, and military concessions.”
The State Department worries that deploying troops in the region is a cause for concern. Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, said on Wednesday, “it is a matter of significant concern for us that North Korea has deployed troops to Russia, and that those troops in Russia are currently receiving training, and that we believe it’s possible they may end up deploying to Kursk to engage in combat”. North Korea hasn’t fought in a major conflict since the Korean War in 1953, so NK troops in Ukraine represent significant escalation and the restlessness the country has to fight. This could possibly be the first conflict that leads to a third world war, giving them the chance to take what they believe they are owed: the rest of the Korean peninsula.
The U.S. has strong relations with many of its European allies through trade and security following World War II and the end of the Cold War. This relationship not only benefits Europe but is one reason America is so strong on the world stage. Even though the U.S. is isolated from many of the tensions throughout the rest of the world because of our location on the other side of the world. Europe does not have this luxury, so it’s of the utmost importance to keep a shield around Europe from its enemies. Putin and Kim’s slow progression across the continent would threaten the establishment we have that keeps the earth spinning.
So what now?
We can only hope Russia and North Korea won’t provoke a world war. Fighting back proves limiting in its efforts. Ukraine has been able to hold back Russia for two years now, but not without the threat of nuclear war. As we step into this new era of geopolitics, let’s take a stand to corroborate world peace.
