The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell is in East Asia to sign defence partnerships with Japan and South Korea after images of North Korean soldiers receiving Russian army uniforms in a base near Ukraine shocked Europe.
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The deals – which will lead to regular dialogue and joint naval exercises, according to a joint EU-Japan statement on Friday – would have been almost unthinkable three years ago.
The United States, Ukraine and Nato have each estimated there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, with 8,000 thought to be in Kursk, a western Russian border oblast in which Ukrainian forces have a foothold.
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North Korea says highest-ever missile test was new Hwasong-19 capable of striking the US
North Korea says highest-ever missile test was new Hwasong-19 capable of striking the US
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the US government has been trying to convince its European allies to think of the world in “single theatre” terms. The security challenges posed in Europe and Asia cannot be considered separately, the argument goes – they are two sides of the same coin.
North Korea’s deployment and fresh concerns about China’s relations with Russia mean that, for the first time, Europeans are sounding more convinced.
“In an age of geopolitical tensions, where international law is being challenged in both regions, the security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific are increasingly interlinked,” Borrell said before flying to Tokyo.
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The shifting sands were laid bare in a report by former Finnish president Sauli Niinisto on “Europe’s civil and military preparedness”, delivered on Wednesday at the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.