The United States has confirmed it: there are North Korean troops in Russia, as Ukraine had been denouncing. The Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, stated this in statements to the press in Rome. He has also clarified that it is unknown what mission these soldiers have but it would be something “very, very serious” if they were preparing to fight alongside the Russian army in the war in Ukraine.
Austin’s statements add to those of the South Korean intelligence services, which have informed the Parliament of that country in a closed-door session that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to receive training on the handling of drones and other equipment before being shipped to Ukraine. In December, the number of North Korean soldiers in the invaded country will reach 10,000, according to this information.
“There is evidence that there are soldiers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [el nombre oficial de Corea del Norte] in Russia,” indicated the Pentagon official. “What are they doing? It remains to be seen. These are the things we have to clarify,” Austin pointed out.
He also pointed out that if these soldiers were preparing to fight on the Russian side in Ukraine, as the president of that country, Volodymyr Zelensky, warns, it would be something very serious. “If they are combatants, if their intention is to participate in this war on behalf of Russia, it is something very, very serious,” he stressed.
Zelensky, who assures that North Korean participation would be the first step in a world war, has mentioned intelligence reports to point out that two units of up to a total of 12,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to intervene on behalf of Russia, something that Moscow has denied. “We are going to continue pulling the thread and see what happens,” Austin added, in reference to those intelligence reports.
Since last year, the United States has been warning about a strengthening of military ties between Moscow and the Kim Jong-un regime since Russian troops launched their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin , and the North Korean leader met on the Russian east coast last year. In June they met again to sign a strategic partnership agreement that includes a mutual defense pact.
South Korea Information
South Korea’s intelligence services (NIS) declared last week that its northern neighbor had sent 1,500 special forces soldiers to eastern Russia to acclimatize at military bases in the area and prepare to enter combat in Ukraine. This Wednesday, NIS officials appeared before Parliament in Seoul for a closed-door session in which they confirmed a new shipment of troops last week, now adding 3,000 and reaching 10,000 by December.
“After the first group arrived in Russia between October 8 and 13, another 1,500 soldiers have been sent,” said South Korean congressman Park Sun-con, of the opposition Democratic Party, in statements to the press. collected by the national Yonhap agency. Park cited a report presented to parliamentarians by NIS director Cho Tae-yong.
Washington believes that Pyongyang is sending ammunition to its ally, but also possibly other equipment to shore up the Russian war machine. The presence of thousands of North Korean soldiers would represent an escalation in that assistance, even greater if it were confirmed that they plan to participate in combat operations.
In his statements, Austin also pointed out that a possible reason for the deployment would be Russia’s problems in filling its combat positions, after two and a half years of war. Senior US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimate that Russian forces have suffered nearly 600,000 casualties, including dead and wounded, since the beginning of the invasion. It is a problem that the Ukrainian forces also suffer from, on the other side.
“This may be an indication that (Putin) has even more problems than most people think,” said the Secretary of Defense. “But of course, he went to pass the cap to North Korea and then to Iran so they would give him more weapons and material. And now he is moving to have more soldiers, if that, if he plans to have those troops participate in the fighting in Ukraine.”
