House intel Republican calls it 'red line' amid report of North Korean troops in Russia

International media reported that North Korea sent troops to Russia to help them fight their continued invasion of Ukraine.

While complaining about not getting a White House briefing, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, the House Republican Intelligence Committee chairman, called the move a "red line."

The GOP lawmaker cited a CNN report Friday that 12,000 soldiers were sent to Ukraine.

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"Public reports from Ukraine and South Korean intelligence agencies detail possible movement of North Korean troops on Russian naval vessels this month," Turner said.

"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 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," the congressman continued.

Turner's support of Ukraine comes as the Republican Party has softened its stance on Russia since Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. Trump has said President Volodymyr Zelensky "let that war start" even though Russia first invaded Crimea in early 2014 when Zelensky wasn't elected to office until 2019.

“I think Zelenskyy is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” Trump told Patrick Bet-David. “Every time he comes in we give him $100 billion. Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser.”

Critics have accused Trump of "waving the white flag" of surrender to Russia if he's elected. Former U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice referred to Trump as a "surrender monkey" for his ongoing efforts to appease the Russian president.

Turner doesn't suggest what the U.S. and NATO must do to respond to North Korea.

See the full letter below or at the link here.