The United States said Wednesday that North Korea has sent troops to Russia, the first official confirmation of a move that has rattled Western allies and could signal a major escalation by Russia in its war in Ukraine. is.
“There is evidence that North Korean troops are stationed in Russia,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters in Rome, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“We don’t know what exactly they’re doing yet,” Austin said, adding, “We’re trying to recreate it more faithfully.” If North Korea has “intentions to enter this war on behalf of Russia,” that is a “serious problem,” he said.
His comments came after South Korea and Ukraine sounded the alarm in recent days, sharing intelligence and expressing frustration with what they saw as a lack of urgency in the U.S. and other Western responses. It was done.
The reclusive nature of the Kremlin and Kim Jong Un’s regime means observers are poring over social media videos and satellite images for confirmation that Russia is sending troops to Ukraine. This would be a dramatic new step in the burgeoning alliance between Pyongyang. And Moscow.
South Korean lawmakers announced Wednesday that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia, out of the 10,000 it had promised to send by December. This is double the 1,500 people South Korean intelligence reported being dispatched last week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that two North Korean military units, each with up to 6,000 soldiers, were undergoing training for deployment.
“This is a challenge, but we know how to meet this challenge, and it is important that our partners do not run away from this challenge either,” he said in a video address tonight.
Lieutenant General Kirillo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Intelligence Directorate, told the US publication The War Zone that North Korean troops could arrive as early as Wednesday in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces began their invasion in August. He said it is possible.
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday and demanded the withdrawal of North Korean soldiers and “related cooperation.” The United States, a treaty ally, has so far only provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but now it is considering providing defensive as well as offensive weapons in response.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said Tuesday that this represented a “dangerous and deeply concerning development” and that the United States was consulting with allies and partners “about the implications of such drastic action.” He said there was.
Mr. Austin visited Kiev on Monday, where he met with Mr. Zelensky and announced $400 million in new military aid, but did not address the report.
The United States and others have already supplied Moscow with much-needed ammunition, including millions of artillery shells, in exchange for critical military technology that North Korea could use to strengthen Kim’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It states that Both Russia and North Korea deny arms transfers.
