Conflict around the world escalated this weekend, as Israel fought back against Iran with targeted airstrikes and Ukraine braced for potential battle with North Korean troops. Here’s the latest.
“Ukraine will be forced in Europe to actually fight against North Korea,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a translated Facebook video uploaded Saturday.
This announcement came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III confirmed Wednesday that North Korean troops were in Russia. Since early 2022, Ukraine has been fighting off a Russian invasion, with aid from the U.S. and other allies. With depleted troops from years of war – Austin said that Russia has lost more than 300,000 service members since it launched its invasion – it appears the recruiting North Korean troops might be Russia’s next strategy in the conflict.
While this development sparks new concerns about Russia’s invasion in Europe, deadly developments also added to tension in the Middle East. There, Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza for over a year, since the group killed 1,200 people in a surprise attack on Israel last October. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon, has also been trading fire with Israel since the Hamas attack.
Last month, Israel hit Hezbollah with covert pager attacks that brought down some of its top leaders. Early this month, Iran launched what a senior Biden administration official called an “unprecedented attack of nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel,” further escalating the conflict.
“Many of these missiles targeted Israel’s most populated city of Tel Aviv. Those missiles had the potential to kill hundreds of civilians,” said the official. They also said the attack was defeated thanks to U.S. assistance.
Sanctions were placed on Iran after the attack, but fighting in the region continues. According to The Times of Israel, two people were killed and seven injured on Friday in a fresh round of Hezbollah rocket attacks that struck the northern Arab town of Majd al-Krum in Israel.
This Friday and Saturday morning, Israel launched its own counter-attack at Iran. CNN reported that Israel said it hit military targets in Tehran that did not include energy infrastructure. During the attacks, four members of Iran’s military were reportedly killed and Tehran said that it is “entitled” to defend itself. However, CNN also said that Tehran seemed to downplay the attack.
What has been the U.S. response to developments in the Middle East?
“Tonight, Israel carried out a direct military response against Iran,” the senior administration official said Friday. “Specifically, Israel conducted precision airstrikes against multiple military targets across Iran and outside populated areas.”
Although the U.S. pledged continued support for Israel, the official said the U.S. was not a participant in this most recent military operation against Iran. However, they did say that President Joe Biden has been working with Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over recent weeks to encourage a response that had a low risk for civilian harm. Israel has been criticized for civilian deaths in Gaza related to its war on Hamas.
“The President discussed the overall situation with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week. He encouraged the Prime Minister to design a response that served to deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risk of further escalation,” said the administration official. “And that is our objective; it’s Israel’s objective, as well, as they have stated this evening.”
Now, if Iran decides to respond to Israel’s attack, the U.S. is prepared to aid in Israel’s defense.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have demonstrated clearly that we will always help defend Israel and secure its people and territory from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups,” said the official.
However, they also said the U.S. does not want war in the region to continue. In fact, they said the U.S plans to lead an effort to end war in Lebanon over the coming days, to arrange for civilians to safely return to their homes and to finally achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The overall contours of those arrangements are in place,” said the official. “[Secretary of State] Tony Blinken was in the region last week. This week, there will be further engagements, including a meeting of hostage negotiators over the coming days. And it’s time to bring these deals to a resolution once and for all.”
Secretary Austin also reaffirmed “the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and right to self-defense,” in a statement from the Department of Defense.
What has been the U.S. response to developments regarding North Korean troops in Russia?
While Austin confirmed that North Korean troops have been spotted in Russia, he said it is not clear why they are there.
“What exactly they are doing is left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,” he said, adding that the U.S. will continue to “pull this thread” to get more information. Austin added that if the North Korean troops intend to fight on Russia’s behalf that is a “very, very serious issue,” with impacts in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
Before Austin confirmed that North Korean troops were in Russia, Principal State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “If it’s true that DPRK [Democratic Republic of Korea, or North Korea] soldiers are joining Putin’s war against Ukraine, it certainly would mark a dangerous and highly concerning development.”
He also said the move would be “another reckless and dangerous action both on the side of Russia, but of course on the side of the DPRK as well.”
Per the State Department, the U.S. does not have any diplomatic relations with North Korea, led by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Its entry in the Central Intelligence Agency’s “The World Factbook” describes the country as “one of the world's most isolated countries and one of Asia’s poorest.”
Pyongyang, North Korea’s capitol, announced it was ending all economic cooperation with South Korea – a country the U.S. does have a diplomatic partnership with – this year. Austin said this week that South Korean leaders are also watching the situation in Russia closely.
North Korea is one of Russia’s few allies in its invasion of Ukraine and it has already shipped munitions to Russia, Austin noted. NBC News reported Friday that plans to bring North Korean troops into the conflict seems to be causing friction with some of its other allies.
“It is… likely to be unwelcome news in China, which has long been North Korea’s main ally but whose influence over the reclusive nuclear-armed state is being eroded by leader Kim Jong Un’s growing relationship with President Vladimir Putin,” said the report.
Ian Bremmer, founder and president of Eurasia Group, a consulting firm based in New York, said he believes China is “very uncomfortable” with the potential development. Newsweek also reported that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, “suggested that such a move would be a bad idea.”
“This is an indication that he [Putin] may be [in even] more trouble than most people realize,” Austin said of the possibility of North Korean troops entering the war. “But again, he went ‘tin-cupping’ early on to get additional weapons and materials from [North Korea], and then from Iran and now he’s making a move to get more people, if … these troops are designed to be a part of the fight in Ukraine.”
Thouh the U.S. is not convinced that the North Korean troops will fight, in Ukraine Zelenskyy is preparing for the possibility.
“Next week will be a time of our very active work with partners to support our soldiers on the frontline and our strategy to force Russia to end the war. We are preparing important support signals,” he said Saturday.