North Korean troops wearing Russian military uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving into the Russian region of Kursk near Ukraine, a dangerous and destabilizing development, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. said.
Austin was holding a press conference with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Young-hyun at the Pentagon amid growing concerns about North Korea sending up to 11,000 troops to Russia. The United States and South Korea said some North Korean troops were heading toward Kursk, on the border with Ukraine, where Kremlin forces are struggling to stop the country’s invasion.
Mr. Austin said it was “very likely” that Russia would use North Korean troops in combat. He added that officials were discussing what to do about the deployment, which he said could widen or prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Asked whether it could encourage other countries to become more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that “it could encourage other countries to take action.”
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations denied that North Korean troops were stationed on the front lines and accused the United States and its allies of “disinformation.”
“These statements about North Korean soldiers on our front lines should surprise no one, because they are all blatant lies,” Vasily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council.
North Korea’s move to strengthen ties with Russia has caused alarm around the world, with leaders wondering how the war in Ukraine will escalate and what Russia will do to North Korea in return. There are concerns about whether China will provide sufficient military aid.
Kim said he did not necessarily think the deployment would spark a war on the Korean peninsula, but said it could increase security threats between the two countries. He said through an interpreter that it was “likely” that North Korea would demand more advanced technology, such as nuclear or ballistic missile capabilities, in exchange for deploying troops.
“They’re doing this because President Putin has lost a lot of troops,” Austin said, adding that the Russian government has a choice: either mobilize more of its own military or seek support from other countries. He added that there was no. He said Russia was already seeking military weapons from other countries, including North Korea and Iran.
The United States estimates that about 10,000 North Korean troops are currently stationed in Russia. But a senior South Korean presidential official who spoke on condition of anonymity in a background briefing said the South Korean government and its allies estimate the number of people sent to Russia has increased to 11,000.
More than 3,000 of them are believed to have moved toward war zones in western Russia, officials said, without specifying where. Some of North Korea’s advance troops have already arrived in the Kursk region.
A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that North Korean troops are currently stationed 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Ukraine-Russia border. The official was not authorized to publicly release the information and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Russia had to shift some resources to Kursk in response to the Ukrainian attack there. US leaders suggested that the use of North Korean troops to strengthen Russia’s defenses showed that Russia’s losses during the war had significantly reduced its military strength.
North Korea also provides military supplies to Russia. Earlier this month, the White House released images purporting to show North Korea transporting 1,000 containers of military equipment by rail to Russia.
