North Korean troop claims revive talk of EU ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine

Reports that thousands of North Korean soldiers may soon join Russia to fight in Ukraine are reviving talk of sending European troops to the country to help Kyiv’s defenders.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told POLITICO Sunday that it’s time for European countries to revisit French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of deploying troops to Ukraine.
“If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by Macron,” Landsbergis, one of Europe’s most outspoken voices on Ukraine, said in written comments.
The French president floated the proposal in February only to be quickly shot down by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who vowed no European or NATO troops would be deployed to Ukraine.
“Regretfully, we are lagging again, being reactive, but I believe in our joint capacity to make all the necessary proactive steps to turn President Macron’s ideas into action,” Landsbergis added.
For now, Western leaders are treading carefully around reports of North Koreans headed to Ukraine.
Neither NATO chief Mark Rutte nor U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have confirmed the reports, which were shared by the leaders of South Korea and Ukraine, although Austin has said that such a deployment, if confirmed, would “cause concern” in the U.S.
South Korea, meanwhile, plans to send a delegation to NATO headquarters near Brussels to discuss its intelligence findings on North Korean troop movements.
Some officials say the West is being too cautious.
“I think they are using this [claim the intelligence isn’t verified] as an excuse not to do anything,” said Riho Terhas, a conservative Estonian member of the European Parliament and a former general. “I’m sure the reports will be verified very soon because it is indeed the case” that North Koreans are joining Russia’s side.
Terhas downplayed the significance of the development, which he said shows President Vladimir Putin’s Russia is “desperate and looking for options because they don’t want to do mobilization themselves.” Moreover, he said, integrating thousands of North Korean troops into Russian-speaking units would prove a huge operational challenge with minimal battlefield effects.
Nevertheless, he added, Europeans should revisit the idea of deploying troops to Ukraine.
“It’s important to have this at least as an option,” said Terhas, who was commander of Estonia’s armed forces from 2011 to 2018. “Every time we talk about boots on the ground in Ukraine it gives a bit more uncertainty to Putin about where the conflict is going — [and] that’s a good thing.”