Minister warns Russia deploying N Korea troops risks wider conflict

Defence Secretary John Healey today branded the arrival of North Korean troops in Russia as a 'shocking escalation' of the Ukraine war.

The Cabinet minister said it was 'highly likely' that Pyongyang had sent soldiers to Russia, but it was not yet clear whether they had been deployed to fight Ukraine.

He said the dramatic development was a 'sign of desperation' from Russian President Vladimir Putin and a 'shocking escalation on North Korea's part'.

And, together with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, Mr Healey warned the move risked triggering a wider global conflict.

The pair spoke at a press conference in London after signing an 'unprecedented' UK-Germany defence pact to agree closer cooperation in the face of Russia's threat.

Mr Healey and Mr Pistorius put pen to paper on what has been named the Trinity House Agreement this morning.

Under the deal, German submarine-hunting planes will operate from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and German arms giant Rheinmetall is set to open a factory producing artillery gun barrels using British steel.

It will see the NATO allies working together on developing long-range strike weapons that can travel further than the UK's existing Storm Shadow missiles.

And the UK and Germany will also collaborate on developing new land-based and aerial drones.

Meanwhile, despite ongoing pleas from Ukraine for long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia, Mr Pistorious said Germany would not be sending its Taurus weapons to Kyiv.

The Trinity House Agreement is part of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's drive to 'reset' relations with EU countries.

The defence pact will see the UK and Germany working together on developing long-range strike weapons that can travel further than the UK's existing Storm Shadow missiles.

They will also collaborate on developing new land-based and aerial drones.

Mr Healey said it was a 'landmark agreement' that 'secures unprecedented levels of new co-operation with the German armed forces and industry.'

The Ministry of Defence said German P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will 'periodically' operate out of Lossiemouth in Moray, potentially armed with UK-supplied torpedoes, helping to secure the North Atlantic.

In response to the potential threat from Russian activity at sea, the UK and Germany will also work together to protect underwater cables.

In addition, the agreement will pave the way for the new Rheinmetall plant, which will see the UK make artillery gun barrels for the first time in a decade using steel made by Sheffield Forgemasters and supporting 400 jobs.

The first artillery gun barrels are expected to be produced in 2027.

Other measures will see co-operation to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and extra support for Ukraine, including work on equipping German Sea King helicopters with modern missile systems for use by Kyiv's forces.

Mr Pistorius said: 'We must not take security in Europe for granted.

'Russia is waging war against Ukraine, it is increasing its weapons production immensely and has repeatedly launched hybrid attacks on our partners in eastern Europe.

'With the Trinity House Agreement, we are showing that the Nato allies have recognised what these times require and are determined to improve their deterrence and defence capabilities.'

Speaking at this morning's press conference, Mr Healey said it was 'highly likely' that North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia.

'It looks highly likely that North Korean troops have been deployed into Russia,' the Defence Secretary said.

'It is certainly not clear yet that they have been deployed to the battle front. We know that North Korea have been providing weapons and ammunition to Russia.

'I see this as a sign of, in fact, desperation - as well as a shocking escalation on North Korea's front - a desperation from Putin that he is having to reach out and develop a growing alliance of aggression with a country like North Korea.'

He added: 'This is not just a concern about the potential for an escalation of conflict in Europe, there is an indivisible link with security concerns in the Indo-Pacific as well.'

Appearing alongside Mr Healey, Mr Pistorious said 'we are checking the implications with regard to international law' of the development but 'it is a kind of escalation'.

He said it was not clear how many North Korean troops were involved – estimates range from 1,500 to 12,000 – or what kind of personnel they were.

He added: 'International conflicts are approaching very rapidly. North Korea delivering, providing ammunition, weapons to Russia.

'Russia providing… technical systems and oil and gas and so on, does have an impact, for example, for the security of South Korea.

'North Korean actions have an impact on the North Korean and Chinese relationship.'

That had a knock-on effect for relationships between China, Russia and India, the German defence minister suggested.

'So we see international conflicts are getting more and more closer to each other and linked to each other,' Mr Pistorius said, which made it harder to de-escalate tensions and conflicts.

He was also asked whether Germany was likely to change its mind on sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

'We did not change our opinion on Taurus, not at all. For reasons we are not allowed to discuss publicly,' Mr Pistorius replied. 

Conservative former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace suggested the new UK-Germany defence pact deal was more about cementing links between Labour and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD.

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'If the new UK/ German 'Trinity House' agreement is to mean anything then Germany would have agreed with UK requests to send Taurus to Ukraine AND they would lift any export veto on potential Typhoon sales to Turkey – a Nato member.

'Otherwise it is pretty hollow and made up of stuff we are already doing or had started. This has more to do with 'SPD is our sister party' than real military mutual benefit.'