US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that there is evidence that North Korea sent troops to Russia As many as 3,000 North Korean soldiers are receiving training on drones and other equipment in the country before being deployed to battlefields in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Rome, Austin said, “What are they really doing? remains to be seen. These are things we need to address,” according to a video posted by the Washington Post.
If troops join the war in Ukraine On Russia’s side, it would be “a very serious issue,” Austin said, with implications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
South Korean intelligence first publicized reports that the Russian Navy had transported 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia this month, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian army.
The US and NATO have not previously formally confirmed the alleged troop dispatch by North Korea, but have warned of the danger of such a development if true. Russia and North Korea have so far denied military activities.
Cho Tae-yong, director of the South Korean National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers on Wednesday that another 1,500 North Korean troops have crossed into Russia, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended the closed-door briefing by Cho.
Cho told lawmakers that his agency estimates North Korea aims to deploy a total of 10,000 troops to Russia by December, Park told reporters.
Park cited Cho as saying that the 3,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia have been divided among several military bases and are in training. According to Park, Cho told lawmakers that the NIS believed they had not yet been deployed in combat.
Speaking jointly with Park about the NIS briefing, lawmaker Lee Seong Kwan said the NIS found that the Russian military is now teaching North Korean soldiers how to use military equipment such as drones.
Lee quoted the NIS chief as saying that Russian instructors have a high opinion of the morale and physical strength of North Korean troops, but think they will ultimately suffer heavy losses because they do not understand modern warfare. Lee quoted Cho as saying that Russia is recruiting interpreters in large numbers.
Lee said the NIS has received indications that North Korea is transferring family members of soldiers selected for deportation to Russia to special sites for isolation.
The NIS chief told lawmakers that North Korea has not disclosed whether it is sending troops to its people. But there are rumors that the news is spreading to local residents, including those whose loved ones have been assigned Russian tours, Lee said, citing the NIS.
Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, told online military news outlet The War Zone That North Korean troops will reach the Kursk region of Russia Today to help Russian troops fighting Ukrainian incursions.
North Korea and Russia, locked in separate conflicts with the West, have been rapidly expanding their cooperation in the past two years.
In June, they signed a major defense agreement that would require both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of any attack.
The NIS said last week that North Korea has sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia through August 2023 to replenish its dwindling arms stockpile.
Reports that North Korea is sending troops to Russia have caused security concerns in South Korea.
South Korean officials worry that Russia could reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated weapons technology that could boost the North’s nuclear and missile programs targeting South Korea.
South Korea said on Tuesday it would consider supplying arms to Ukraine in response to reports of North Korea sending troops.
South Korea has sent humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine, but has so far avoided directly supplying arms to Ukraine in line with its policy of not supplying arms to countries actively involved in conflicts.
North Korea has 1.2 million troops, one of the world’s largest standing armies, but has not fought on a large scale since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Many experts, citing their lack of combat experience, question how much North Korean troops will help Russia.
He says North Korea wants to receive Russian economic aid and its help in modernizing the North’s aging conventional weapons systems as well as transferring its high-tech weapons technology.
(Tags to translate) US news (T) Lloyd Austin (T) North Korea (T) Russia (T) South Korea (T) Ukraine war
