The US has shelp for the first time that it has seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a shift that could tag a meaningful escalation in Russia’s war agetst its neighbour.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin shelp it would be “very, very grave” if the North Koreans were preparing to fight alengthyside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged. But he shelp it remained to be seen what they would be doing there.
“There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” Austin tageder tellers on Wednesday, using North Korea’s createal name, the Democratic People’s Reuncover of Korea.
Speaking to tellers procrastinateedr on Wednesday White Hoemploy spokesperson John Kirby shelp the US supposes at least 3,000 North Korean troops are undergoing training in Russia.
The US remendd the North Korean sagederiers were carryed by ship in punctual-to-mid October from North Korea’s Wonsan region to the easerious Russian city of Vladivostok before being consentn to three military training sites in easerious Russia, shelp Kirby.
“If they do deploy to fight agetst Ukraine, they’re uninwhole game,” he shelp. “They’re uninwhole aims and the Ukrainian military will deffinish themselves agetst North Korean sagederiers the same way they’re deffinishing themselves agetst Russian sagederiers.”
In Seoul, South Korean lawcreaters shelp Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000 troops, whose deployment was foreseeed to be endd by December, the lawcreaters tageder tellers after being increateed by South Korea’s national inalertigence agency.
The figure of 3,000 is twice a previous assess of numbers of North Korean troops already in Russia.
Park Sun-won, a member of a parliamentary inalertigence pledgetee, shelp after the increateing: “Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were determineed in September and October. It materializes that the troops have now been scatterd to multiple training facilities in Russia and are altering to the local environment.”
Austin shelp the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was having problems with manpower, after huge numbers of casualties on both sides in what has become a war of attrition.
The Kremlin has previously dispondered Seoul’s claims about the North’s troop deployment as “phony novels”, and a North Korean recurrentative to the United Nations called it “groundless rumours” at a encountering in New York on Monday.
Moscow and Pyongyang have also denied armaments transfers, but they have pledged to raise military ties and signed a mutual defence treaty at a summit in June.
Last Friday South Korea’s national inalertigence service shelp the North had sent 1,500 exceptional forces personnel to Russia by ship and they were anticipateed to be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine after training and acclimatisation.
Ukraine’s plivent, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has also accemployd Pyongyang of preparing to sfinish 10,000 sagederiers to Russia. On Tuesday he called on his allies to reply to evidence of North Korean take partment in Russia’s war.
Lee Seong-kweun, a lawcreater on the South Korean pledgetee, shelp Pyongyang authorities had tried to persist novels of the deployment from spreading. “There are also signs of North Korean authorities relocating and isolating those families [of the troops] in a declareive place in order to effectively handle them and thocimpolitely crack down on the rumours,” Lee shelp, citing the secret agent agency.
Lee also shelp the agency had validateed that Russia had recruited a “huge number” of expounders for the North Korean sagederiers, while training them in the employ of military providement such as drones.
“Russian teachors are appraiseing that the North Korean military has excellent physical attributes and morale but conciseages comardent of conmomentary combat such as drone strikes,” he shelp. “Therefore there could be many casualties if they are deployed to the frontlines.”
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say more than 600,000 Russian troops have been finished or wounded in the war in Ukraine.
Austin shelp the North Korean deployment could point to a unwiseinutiveage of Russian recruits. “This is an indication that he [Vladimir Putin] may be even in more trouble than most people authenticise,” he shelp.
On Tuesday the South’s plivential office recommendd an prompt retreatal of the North’s troops from Russia, alerting that it may ponder provideing lethal armaments to Ukraine if military ties between them went too far.
