Will Russia's war against Ukraine go global? Enter the North Koreans

The Debate

Ukraine's president warns it could lead to "a world war." Is Volodymyr Zelensky overreacting by sounding the alarm over the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia? NATO believes the troops are destined for the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where the Kremlin's forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion.

Seoul is certainly taking the threat seriously, having dispatched its defence minister to Washington amid reports of a South Korean delegation expected in Kyiv. Is this the moment where NATO lifts restrictions on the use of its weaponry by Ukraine? How far will this escalation go?

And what's in it for Pyongyang's regime? In recent months, it has severed mediation channels and destroyed roads across the demilitarized zone. Those garbage-filled balloons launched towards the South may seem comical from afar, but rising tensions are no laughing matter. Does Kim Jong Un actually want war? If so, why? And is the West prepared?