US confirms presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia

The United States has confirmed that there are North Korean troops in Russia, as Kyiv had reported. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Washington was aware of the development in statements delivered to the press in Rome. He also clarified that it remains unknown what mission Pyongyang’s soldiers are undertaking, but that it would be “very, very serious” if they were preparing to fight alongside the Russian army in the war in Ukraine.

Austin’s comments follow reports from South Korean intelligence services, which have told the country’s parliament in a closed session that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to receive training in handling drones and other equipment before being sent to Ukraine. By December, the number of North Korean troops in the invaded country is expected to reach 10,000, according to the reports.

“There is evidence that there are DPRK troops [the official name for North Korea] in Russia,” the Pentagon official said. “What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,” Austin added.

“If they are co-belligerents, [if] their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” he stressed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that North Korean involvement would represent the first step toward a world war. Zelenskiy cited intelligence reports that two units of up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to intervene on Russia’s behalf, a claim Moscow has denied. “We’ll continue to pull this thread and see what happens here,” Austin said.

The United States has been warning since last year of a strengthening of military ties between the Kremlin and the Kim Jong-un regime since Russian troops launched their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but especially since Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader met on Russia’s eastern coast last year. In June, they met again to sign a strategic partnership agreement that includes a mutual defense pact.

Information from South Korea

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said last week that its northern neighbor had sent 1,500 special forces soldiers to eastern Russia to acclimatize at military bases there and prepare to go into combat in Ukraine. “After the first batch arrived in Russia between October 8 and 13, another 1,500 soldiers have been sent,” South Korean politician Park Sun-con, a member of the opposition Democratic Party, told reporters according to the national news agency Yonhap. Park was citing a report presented to lawmakers by NIS director Cho Tae-yong.

Washington believes Pyongyang is sending ammunition to its ally, but also possibly other equipment to support the Russian war machine. The presence of thousands of North Korean soldiers would represent an escalation of that assistance, much greater still if it were confirmed that they plan to participate in combat operations.

In his remarks, Austin also suggested that one possible reason for the deployment is Russia’s problems in manning its combat positions after two and a half years of war. Senior U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimate that Russian forces have suffered about 600,000 casualties, including dead and wounded, since the start of the invasion. It is a problem also faced by Ukrainian forces.

“This is an indication that [Putin] may be even in more trouble than most people realize,” Austin said. “But again, he went tin cupping early on to get additional weapons and materiels from DPRK and then from Iran. And now he’s making a move to get more people, if that is the case, if these troops are designed to be a part of the fight in Ukraine.”

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