US says North Korean troops are now in Russia

The United States has “evidence” that North Korean troops have deployed to Russia, the U.S. defense secretary said Wednesday.

Lloyd Austin said that it remains to be seen what exactly Pyongyang’s forces are doing there, but according to South Korean and Ukrainian warnings, they are preparing to join Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine.

“If they’re a co-belligerent, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue, and it will have impacts not only on in Europe — It will also impact things in the Indo Pacific as well,” Austin said.

The Kremlin’s use of North Korean troops in the combat zone would mark a significant broadening of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, and could prompt Western allies to become more actively involved in the conflict.

Austin said the U.S. is also still attempting to determine what North Korea will get in return for helping Russia with manpower.

NATO on Monday asked South Korea to send a delegation to brief it on reports that Pyongyang was sending troops to Russia. The military alliance’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that such a development “would mark a significant escalation.”

The first unverified videos of North Korean soldiers at a military base in Russia were published Friday by pro-Kremlin military bloggers on Telegram.

But the Kremlin has previously called the footage of North Korean soldiers “fake news.” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said the Americans and South Koreans were providing “contradictory information” about Russia’s use of Pyongyang’s soldiers.

Last week, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said the North had already begun deploying four brigades totaling 12,000 troops, including special forces, for the war in Ukraine, with 1,500 special forces already in Russia. 

According to the head of Kyiv’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the North Korean troops currently being trained in Russia “will be ready on Nov. 1,” and the troops will use Russian equipment and ammunition. 

Budanov added that the first cadre of 2,600 troops will go to Kursk in Russia, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in late summer, but it is unclear where the remaining North Korean troops will be stationed.

In June, Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that commits both countries to provide military assistance to each other if either is attacked.

“The DPRK is our close neighbor, our partner, and we are developing our relations in all areas, and this is our sovereign right. This should not cause any concerns for anyone, because this cooperation is not directed against third countries. We will continue to develop this cooperation,” Peskov said Monday.

This story has been updated.