The U.S. disclosed on Wednesday that the North Koreans have deployed three thousand troops to Russia, who are currently training at different locations in the country. The troops may be deployed to fight Ukraine in the ongoing fight between the two countries. It was noted that forces will be fair game if they go into combat in Ukraine.
The development has further shown some sort of a potential alliance between North Koreans to join Russian forces in Ukraine and suggests expanded military ties between the two nations as Moscow seeks weapons and troops to gain ground in a grinding war that has stalemated after more than two years.
Reacting to the development, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has noted that it was the next step as North Korea has provided arms and weapons to Russia. The secretary noted that Pyongyang could face a high level of action as a consequence of directly ending the operation of Russia. A North Korean official had disclosed the the deployment but it was denied by Pyongyang and Moscow. The US secretary’s comment was the statement and confirmation on the Issue,
Also speaking on the deployment, White House national security spokesman John Kirby noted the troops were believed to have left their parent country by ship to Vladivostok, Russia’s largest Pacific port, in early to mid-October. John Kirby noted that the troops had travelled to the country and moved to different Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they are currently undergoing their training; they expressed concern over the situation and deployment.
Kirby noted that the US has continued to assess the situation, but there is a possibility that the troops could be deployed western Russia and then engage in combat against Ukraine’s forces, Austin told reporters in Rome that exactly what the North Korean troops are doing in Russia is left to be seen.
He added that If they’re co-belligerents, their real reasons could be that they intend to participate in the war with the Russian troops, which will become a serious issue. He noted that the collaboration will have a serious undertone not only in Europe but also in the Indo-Pacific. He said that the question will continue to remain what North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, will benefit from the deployment to the area.
In June, the Russian and the North Korean governments agreed to sign a major defence deal which would require the two countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either was attacked. The agreement was a step toward strengthening the cooperation between the two countries.
There is a high level of worry among South Korean officials that Russia may reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated weapons technologies that could boost its nuclear and missile programs that target South Korea. Speaking on Tuesday, the South Korean government noted they plan to deploy weapons to Ukraine in response to the reported troop dispatch by the North Korean government.
A claim made by South Korea’s spy chief to lawmakers was that the 3,000 North Korean troops are now in Russia receiving training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to battlegrounds in Ukraine.
It was the first instance that South Korean intelligence made it public in a report that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia this month, the the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged that the intelligence conducted by the government had learnt that the 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian forces.
In a closed door briefing on Wednesday the South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong told lawmakers that the North Korean government had deployed 1,500 North Korean troops who have entered Russia, the discussion from the closed door section was discussed by Park Sunwon, who attended Cho’s closed-door briefing.
Cho noted that the intelligence of the government has learnt that the North Korean government have planned to deploy not less than 10,000 troops to Russia by December; Park disclosed
It was revealed by Park that Cho had the lawmakers that the 3,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia had been split among multiple military bases. He further revealed that the troops have not been deployed to the battle ground in ukraine.
Also, while addressing a joint press briefing, lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun expressed that the NIS found that the Russian military is teaching those North Korean soldiers how to use military equipment such as drones.
Lee mentioned the NIS chief as saying Russian tutors have high opinions of the confidence and physical power of the North Korean soldiers but think they will eventually suffer heavy causalities because they lack an interpretation of modern warfare. Lee, quoting Cho, said Russia is recruiting many interpreters.
Lee further noted that the NIS has seen signs that North Korea is relocating family members of soldiers chosen to be sent to Russia to special sites to isolate them. The NIS chief told lawmakers that North Korea hasn’t disclosed its troop dispatch to its own people.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte while speaking noted that North Korea sending troops to Ukraine would mark a “significant escalation of the current crisis that have taken over Ukraine He also disclosed that he has talked South Korea’s president to send experts to Brussels next week to brief the military alliance of NATO on next step to be taken.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate head, while speaking, also disclosed that the North Korean troops were due to join Russia’s Kursk region on Wednesday, which will be in an effort to help troops fighting off a Ukrainian incursion.
Last week, South Korea’s spy agency disclosed that North Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other customary arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons stores.
