Thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia, the United States said Wednesday, in what the West and Kyiv fear could develop into a major troop deployment to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea have boosted their political and military alliance amid the offensive, with North Korea facing long-standing accusations of supplying arms to Russia’s army.
But the deployment of troops to support Russia’s army — which is sustaining heavy casualties as it grinds through eastern Ukraine — would be a significant escalation in that support and has prompted warnings from Kyiv and its Western backers.
“We know that thousands of DPRK troops are in Russia to be trained. We don’t know what their mission will be or if they’ll go on to fight in Ukraine,” the senior US official said, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name.
“Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield every day. If Russia needs to turn to DPRK for manpower, that’s a sign of desperation — not strength — on the part of the Kremlin,” the official said.
North Korea’s state media has not commented since Seoul’s spy agency said last week said Pyongyang had decided to send a “large-scale” troop deployment to Russia to fight Ukraine.
Moscow on Wednesday refused to confirm or deny the reports, telling reporters to “ask Pyongyang” where its troops are.
“Where they are located — please clarify that with Pyongyang,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing when asked whether the reclusive state had sent troops to Russia.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier provided the first confirmation from a US official of a North Korean deployment to Russia, but also said it was not known why the troops are there.
“What exactly they’re doing? Left to be seen,” he told journalists, according to a Washington Post video of his remarks.
“If they’re co-belligerents, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” he added.
NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah also said, “allies have confirmed evidence of a DPRK troop deployment to Russia,” without identifying which countries had made the assessment.
– International concerns –
After a briefing by the National Intelligence Service, South Korean lawmaker Park Sun-won said earlier that 1,500 more troops had been sent to Russia, taking the total deployment to 3,000.
Seoul says Pyongyang plans to deploy 10,000 soldiers to Russia by December, with international concerns escalating.
Germany said Wednesday it had summoned North Korea’s envoy to warn the reclusive state against sending troops.
“North Korea’s support of the Russian war of aggression directly threatens Germany’s security and the European peace order,” the German foreign ministry said on social media platform X.
Kyiv on Wednesday called on any North Korean troops deployed by Russia to lay down their arms and save their lives.
“We address fighters of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to help Putin’s regime. You must not die senselessly in a foreign land,” said a statement issued by an initiative run by Kyiv’s military intelligence.
– ‘Helping Putin’ –
“You must not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home!” it added.
South Korea has said the nuclear-armed North is supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine. The fresh alarm comes after the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military deal in June.
South Korea will send a delegation to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week to brief the alliance on the situation, officials said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has pled for Kyiv’s allies to respond and repeatedly said a North Korean deployment risks further escalating and prolonging the war.
“It is important that our partners do not hide from this challenge. All partners,” he said in an address published late Tuesday.
“And if Russia is still able to make this war bigger and longer, then everyone in the world who is not helping to force Russia to peace is actually helping Putin to fight,” he added.
Experts have said that in return for the troops, North Korea is likely aiming to acquire military technology, ranging from surveillance satellites to submarines, plus possible security guarantees from Moscow.
North Korea and Russia are under UN sanctions — Kim for his nuclear weapons programme, and Moscow for the Ukraine war.
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