U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving to the Kursk region near Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development.
Austin was speaking at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, as concerns grow about Pyongyang’s deployment of as many as 11,000 troops to Russia. The U.S. and South Korea say some of the North Korean troops are heading to Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where the Kremlin’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the North Korean troops in combat.
He said officials are discussing what to do about the deployment, which he said has the potential to broaden or lengthen the conflict in Ukraine. Asked if it could prompt other nations to get more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that it could “encourage others to take action” but he provided no details.
Kim said he doesn't necessarily believe the deployment will trigger war on the Korean Peninsula, but could increase security threats between the two nations. There is a “high possibly” that Pyongyang would ask for higher technologies in exchange for its troop deployment, such as in nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, he said, speaking through an interpreter.
North Korea’s move to tighten its relationship with Russia have triggered alarms across the globe, as leaders worry about how it may expand the war in Ukraine and what Russian military aid will be delivered to Pyongyang in exchange.
“They're doing this because (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has lost a lot of troops,” Austin said, adding that Moscow has a choice between mobilizing more of its own forces or turning to others for help. Already, he noted, Russia has sought military weapons from other nations. Those include North Korea and Iran.
The U.S. has estimated there are about 10,000 North Korean troops now in Russia. Seoul and its allies, however, assess that the number dispatched to Russia has increased to 11,000, according to a senior South Korean presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing.
More than 3,000 of them are believed to have moved toward combat zones in western Russia, the official said, without specifying the locations. Some North Korean advance units have already arrived in the Kursk region.
A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that North Korean troops are currently stationed 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the Ukrainian border with Russia. The official was not authorized to disclose the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official did not provide any additional detail.
Russia has had to shift some resources to the Kursk border region to respond to Ukraine's offensive there. U.S. leaders have suggested that the use of North Korean forces to augment Russia's defenses indicates that Moscow’s losses during the more than two-year war have significantly degraded its military strength.
North Korea has also provided munitions to Russia and earlier this month the White House released images it said were of North Korea shipping 1,000 containers of military equipment there by rail.
A key worrisome question is what North Korea will get in return for providing the troops. But officials have yet to say specifically what Pyongyang may have requested or Moscow has offered.
Austin and Kim are scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul at the State Department on Thursday.
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42 Comments
starpunk
Conscripts. You know these NK soldiers aren't 'volunteers'. The very fact that Russia is taking foreign conscripts and is buying drones from Iran is telling one thing.
The UN sanctions are really taking a toll on Russia's economy and Putin is desperate.
Joe
Send them to meet Kim İl Sung.
Mr Kipling
Ukraine controlling the western media with this nonsense propaganda story. If true, a few thousand North Koreans will not make a difference. Most likely more fake news from Kiev to hide the bad news coming from the Dombas. Towns falling like dominos, troops abandoning their positions and others surrendering in their thousands.
JJE
This is getting embarrassing. Every few months they make an outlandish allegation, don't present any evidence and when it is inevitably exposed as fraudulent, they never retract or apologise for it. Really scummy conduct but unfortunately part of a pattern - remember that Russian moonraker-style space weapon they raised the media alarm bells about - this is another version of that.
One would be wise to examine the motives for certain quarters making these allegations:
Firstly, Zelensky is paving the way for an excuse as to why Kursk was lost - more importantly a bogeyman to blame it on, and NK troops are perfect.
Secondly, this dovetails with his motive to get deep strikes on Russia - if NK troops are there, then they must be struck surely.
Thirdly, this papers over the fact that the AFU is full of mercenaries. Zelensky even signed a law allowing them to become officers recently.
Lastly, everything above ignores the fact Kursk is Russian territory.
Yrral
Put up or shut up, Zelensky is making an excuse for the US failure in Ukraine,short of nuking Russia, Ukraine will be carved up like Thanksgiving Day Turkey,and Ukrainian show their ungratefulness by support of Trump for President
RichardPearce
What's interesting is the 'in Russian uniforms' stuff.
That they will then claim eastern Russians are really North Koreans will go over well with the older demographics who, despite half of Russia being in Asia, think of Russians as 'white' and will dismiss as propaganda the pointing out of the large percentage of Russia's population that look 'Asian' as a more probable explanation.
The idea is that if they can make this claim stick as well as the "WMDs minutes from launch" and the "Revolution of Dignity" that overthrew the last democratically elected government a united peaceful Ukraine had resulted in a pure democracy nonsense they've used before, well they can get NATO soldiers 'legally' into a defensive war with Russia if they just so happen to 'legally' deploy them alongside the Azovians, so of course, the other side will back down and surrender on America's terms.
Though, of course, if they're also caught up defending the scofflaw regime in the ME too, that's going to be a harder sell.
asdfgtr
Given that Russia is losing an estimated 1,200 fighters a day in killed and wounded casualties during its autumn eastern offensive, the North Koreans could be quickly expended on the frontline.
It is not known what the North Koreans will do, though given Russia’s frontline tactics, which remain relatively careless of human lives, it is hard to imagine they would be dispatched into a winter effort to take Pokrovsk or another key location on Ukraine’s eastern front.
Some dude
I would say that "North Korean troops in Russian uniforms" could lead to considerable identity confusion, but in this case it's just the losers of country A wearing the uniforms of loser country B.
It tracks, though. You can bet that Fatboy Kim (mad respect to whoever came up with that) values the life of his military men just about as little as Vlad does his.
Some dude
This is getting embarrassing.
Indeed. Your side is still fighting a war they claimed would be over in 3 days.
Peter Neil
i doubt nk will acknowledge any casualties.
they’ll make propaganda videos and statements about how 12 glorious nk troops defeated two battalions with their bare hands.
Moonraker
Two countries, two leaders, Kim and Putin, who care nothing for their soldiers and people. They are just tools for the dictators.
Ken
How many Americans here know how to speak Russian?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Your last "democratically elected" president of Ukraine fled the country without a shot fired and didn't even take his government with him.
JJE
Important to observe Kyiv's representatives in Donetsk and Lugansk fled too in 2014 (which means authority was forfeited down there).
stormcrow
Is Ukraine a democracy?
Yes.
Is Ukraine being attacked and invaded by not just one but 2 dictators / countries?
Yes.
Does the free world have an obligation or duty to help Ukraine stop them?
?!?!?
JJE
Ukraine is not a democracy. It is under martial law and before that were a series of unconstitutional creations springing from the coup in 2014 that assaulted the south-east of their country with a nasty civil war. Nice try though.
Fighto!
The Ukrainians are waiting for these hapless little suckers.
They won't know what hit them.
Overall, a massive sign of desperation by the fascist Russians - three years into an invasion that was supposed to last just days, some hopelessly inferior, unprepared and untested North Koreans are being thrown into the fray.
WoodyLee
This will be aggo excuse for NATO to start putting boots on the ground in Ukraine which is already happening but limited to non combat, the propaganda machines on both sides are now in full swing, we might see another Iraq soon.
WoodyLee
Mr. Zelensky dream of involving NATO might soon come true but this time with Kim's help.
WoodyLee
Does the free world have an obligation or duty to help Ukraine stop them?
?!?!?
yes, BUT Ukraine also has the option of Negotiating a peace deal with NATO guarantees or continue to fight with NATO support which will end at the Negotiating table anyways, take your pick.
theFu
Fatboy Kim sees this as an opportunity for his army to get some war experience before they re-start the war with SK, no doubt. As much as we make fun of NK and their leaders, they aren't stupid.
proxy
There are plenty of western "volunteers" in the area. Just yesterday at least 1 Canadian trying to cross into Russia for a sabotage mission was killed. And he is not by any means the first "volunteer" to die.
As long as the North Korean citizens are wearing Russian uniforms and under Russian command it is no different than all the young men supporting the Ukraine.
Desert Tortoise
The Russians have been pretty clear that any negotiated settlement include guarantees that Ukraine remain out of NATO.
There goes that idea ..............
Desert Tortoise
The terrain in Ukraine is flat and nothing like the mountainous terrain of North Korea. Two completely different kinds of war.
What is unknown is what happens in DPRK if a quarter or a half, or more, of these troops never come home?
Some dude
What is unknown is what happens in DPRK if a quarter or a half, or more, of these troops never come home?
And the reason it's unknown is that nobody in their right mind would dare tell Fatboy Kim that information anyway.
Desert Tortoise
There is no comparison. The number of foreign fighters volunteering to fight in Ukraine is small and their effort is not organized by their home nations. The most numerous foreign fighters helping Ukraine are Chechens, who are nominally Russian citizens fighting their own country. There are no western nations sending volunteers to Russia in an organized manner.
By comparison the DPRK is sending an existing Brigade of Korean People's Army soldiers and a Colonel General Kim Yong Bok to lead them.
starpunk
It's just like I said before. Buying drones, not building them and now depending on foreign conscripts (NOT volunteers)..
This will give Kimmyboy something to 'study' and ponder over. Those NK soldiers are his gladiators, they don't beans about the Ukraine environment and they're going to get a big surprise. It's a highway to hell for these soldiers.
And now this. Conscripting those men in their 40s and 50s isn't doing the trick either, is it? Cyberwar works in an extensive way, it's effective. But it's not the be-all. Wars of all kind are messy and Puddy Pie has really pooped his pants on this one.
It's autumn again and the harsh winter is coming up again. It's going to be la third lonely Christmas season for a lot of Russian soldiers. All Vlad has to do is pull em out.
proxy
@Desert Tortoise
Surely, you are not naive enough to believe that the US has not sent active service members to Ukraine?
There is an estimated 20,000 foreign fighters in Ukraine, wearing, at least temporarily, Ukrainian uniforms.
TokyoLiving
There are people from other countries wearing kyiv regime's uniforms..
No drama here
Some dude
And Russia will win this war..
I'm sort of interested in the psychology of people. So in all seriousness, I ask: do you feel absolutely no embarrassment about the fact that people have been making this claim for coming up three years (for what was supposed to last three days) and it still hasn't happened?
This is nearly as intellectually bankrupt as the christians who say "I see that atheists still haven't proven the non-existence of god".
Desert Tortoise
That is not true. There are no NATO military personnel in Ukraine. NATO is very careful to work inside NATO nations supporting Ukrainian forces with maintenance and supply support.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Important to observe that russia was already invading by that point and there is no concept of forfeiting authority in international law.
Ukraine has not been free of heinous assault long enough to rid itself of russian corruption and authoritarianism.
Moonraker
Some people seem to want Russia to win so much they can create all kinds of sophistry now for North Korean troops being there. I wonder what feelings that is based on. Love for authoritarianism? Father issues? Support for might is right? Hatred of the US? There is really no rational reason. Are you happy to have Putin's nihilistic, callous attitude, even towards his own people, universalised? What is it guys? What really motivates your deep, dark feelings?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Yes, that surely doesn't redound to russia's embarassment, but then there is no dignity left in that country.
proxy
@Desert Tortoise
Wrong. Months ago, Germany confirmed UK soldiers are on the ground in Ukraine.
TaiwanIsNotChina
For horde state members, violence is all they know.
TaiwanIsNotChina
If the US military were there, you would feel it.
Some dude
Some people seem to want Russia to win so much they can create all kinds of sophistry now for North Korean troops being there. I wonder what feelings that is based on. Love for authoritarianism? Father issues? Support for might is right? Hatred of the US? There is really no rational reason. Are you happy to have Putin's nihilistic, callous attitude, even towards his own people, universalised? What is it guys? What really motivates your deep, dark feelings?
I think this link has it pretty well sorted.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/xhfz2u/the_types_of_apologists_for_invasion_of_ukraine/
TaiwanIsNotChina
Now now, I'm sure it will take slightly more than a month to clear out Moscow of combatants. Just slightly, though.
Peter Neil
one thing the nk’s will learn is that the bluster during war games ends instantly when someone near you gets shot or an artillery round explodes.
Desert Tortoise
The only Brits in Ukraine are loading mission plans in Storm Shadow missiles for the Ukraine Air Force. No combat troops. The Germans were discussing how the Brits could program Taurus missiles for them instead of sending Germans to do it.