America confirms the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. international

The United States has confirmed that there are North Korean troops in Russia, as Ukraine has been denouncing. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said this in a statement to the press in Rome. He also clarified that it is unknown what the mission of these troops is, but that it would be “very, very serious” if they were preparing to fight alongside Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.

Austin’s statements join those from South Korean intelligence services, which informed that country’s parliament in a closed-door session that about 3,000 North Korean soldiers are being sent to Russia to receive training in handling drones and other equipment before being sent to Russia. Are. Ukraine. According to this information, the number of North Korean soldiers in the attacked country will reach 10,000 in December.

“There is evidence that Russia has troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the official name of North Korea),” the Pentagon official indicated. “What are they doing? It remains to be seen. These are things we have to clarify,” Austin said.

He also said that if these soldiers were preparing to fight on the Russian side in Ukraine, as that country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, it would be a very serious matter. “If they are combatants, if they intend to take part in this war on the Russian side, this is a very serious matter,” he stressed.

Zelensky, who assures that North Korean involvement would be the first step into a world war, has cited intelligence reports that two units of North Korean troops totaling 12,000 are preparing to intervene on Russia’s side, something that Moscow has refused. “We’ll continue to pull the threads and see what happens,” Austin said in reference to those intelligence reports.

Since last year, the United States has been warning about strengthening military ties between Moscow and the Kim Jong-un regime after Russian troops launch an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular Putin and the North Korean leader met on Russia’s east coast last year. In June they met again to sign a strategic partnership agreement that includes a mutual defense agreement.

south korea information

South Korea’s intelligence services (NIS) announced last week that its northern neighbor had sent 1,500 special forces troops to eastern Russia to acclimatize at military bases in the region and prepare to enter the war in Ukraine . This Wednesday, NIS officials appeared for a closed-door session in front of the parliament in Seoul, in which they confirmed a new shipment of troops last week, now adding 3,000 more and will reach 10,000 by December.

In press statements collected by the national Yonhap agency, South Korean congressman Park Sun-kon of the opposition Democratic Party said, “After the first group arrived in Russia between October 8 and 13, another 1,500 troops have been sent. ” Park cited a report presented to lawmakers by NIS director Cho Tae-yong.

Washington believes Pyongyang is sending ammunition to its ally, but possibly also other equipment to shore up the Russian war machine. The presence of thousands of North Korean troops would represent an increase in that aid, even more so if it is confirmed that they plan to participate in combat operations.

In his statements, Austin also noted that a possible reason for the deployment would be the problems Russia is having filling its combat positions after two and a half years of war. Senior US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, estimated that Russian forces have suffered about 600,000 casualties, including dead and wounded, since the beginning of the invasion. On the other hand, this is a problem that Ukrainian forces also suffer from.

“It may be a sign that (Putin) has more problems than most people think,” the defense secretary said. “But of course, he went to hand over the border to North Korea and then to Iran so that they could give him more weapons and material. And now he’s moving to keep more troops, if he plans to send those troops to fight in Ukraine.”