"US Has No Suitable Additional Sanctions Card for North Korean Troops' Deployment to Russia"

Continued High-Intensity Sanctions
Uncertainty in US Presidential Election Also a Variable

As the U.S. presidential election approaches, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 1st (local time) that the U.S. lacks suitable cards to play regarding North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.

Press Conference of the South Korea-U.S. Foreign and Defense (2+2) Ministers' Meeting (Photo by Yonhap News)

WSJ pointed out, "The U.S. has almost no options to respond to North Korea fighting for Russia," adding, "While the U.S. says Russia will face serious consequences due to North Korea's troop deployment, the options available are actually limited."

On the 31st of last month, South Korea and the U.S. held the '6th South Korea-U.S. Foreign and Defense (2+2) Ministerial Meeting' in Washington, condemning the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and announcing that they would actively take necessary measures together with the international community.

In their joint statement, the two countries emphasized, "Both sides pledged to actively pursue necessary measures with the international community to implement the current unilateral sanctions regime and to deter any further illegal, reckless, and destabilizing actions."

Since the U.S. has already been imposing strong sanctions on Russia and North Korea, it is difficult to prepare additional sanctions. Moreover, with the presidential election imminent, internal political uncertainty has greatly increased.

There have been ongoing discussions about allowing Ukraine to receive long-range missiles from Western allies to strike Russian territory, but the U.S. has maintained a negative stance on this.

This is due to concerns over the possibility of escalation from Russian retaliation, as well as the fact that the U.S. does not have a very ample stockpile of medium- and long-range ballistic missiles.

WSJ quoted security experts saying, "Filling the gaps in the sanctions currently imposed and enforcing existing sanctions as strongly as possible may be better than introducing new sanctions."