Press Releases

Today, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (OH-10) sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that his administration brief the House Intelligence Committee about the movement of North Korean troops into Russian territory. Additionally, Chairman Turner demanded that the Biden-Harris Administration establish a red line about the use of North Korean forces against Ukraine.

Read the full letter here or below.

Dear President Biden,

According to news reports, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned, “We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea … are preparing to (start) fighting against us. This is really an urgent thing, I spoke about it with the United States, I spoke about it with all the leaders.”

Public reports from Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence agencies detail possible movement of North Korean troops on Russian naval vessels this month. The administration has not briefed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence or the House Armed Services Committee of any assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies or the Department of Defense regarding these troop movements.

These troop movements, if true, are alarming and are an extreme escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. They require an immediate response from the United States and our NATO allies to avoid a widening conflict. 

North Korean troops, either attacking Ukraine from Russian territory or entering into Ukrainian territory, must be a red line for the United States and NATO. Your administration must make that absolutely clear and unequivocal.

Due to the urgency of this matter, I call for an immediate classified briefing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence concerning the possible engagement of North Korean troops in a potentially escalating and broadening Ukrainian conflict.