US defense chief Austin says there is evidence North Korea sent troops to Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia, while South Korea’s spy chief told reporters lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops are in the country receiving training on drones and other equipment. before being sent to battlefields in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Rome, Austin said “What exactly are they doing? Left to be seen. These are things we need to resolve,” 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, very serious problem,” Austin said, adding that it would have an impact on Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.

South Korean intelligence first published reports that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia this month, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously said his government had information that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian forces.

The US and NATO had not previously formally confirmed North Korea’s alleged deployment of troops, but warned of the danger of such a development if true. Russia and North Korea have so far denied troop movements.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong told lawmakers on Wednesday that another 1,500 North Korean troops have entered Russia, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended a meeting at the door. closed by Cho.

Cho told lawmakers that his agency has assessed that North Korea intends to send a total of 10,000 troops to Russia by December, Park told reporters.

Park quoted Cho as saying that the 3,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia have been divided among several military bases and are undergoing training. Cho told lawmakers that the NIS believes they have not yet been mobilized for battle, according to Park.

Speaking jointly with Park at the NIS briefing, lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun said the NIS discovered 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 high opinions of the morale and physical strength of North Korean soldiers, but think they will end up suffering heavy casualties because they have no understanding of modern warfare. Lee, citing Cho, said Russia is recruiting large numbers of interpreters.

Lee said the NIS has detected signs that North Korea is relocating family members of soldiers chosen to be sent to Russia to special locations to isolate them.

The NIS chief told lawmakers that North Korea has not revealed the deployment of troops to its own people. But word is rumored to be spreading among local residents, including those whose loved ones have been designated for Russian tours, Lee said, citing the NIS.

The head of Ukraine’s Directorate of Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, told online military media outlet The War Zone that North Korean troops will arrive in Russia’s Kursk region today to help Russian troops combat a Ukrainian incursion.

North Korea and Russia, engaged in separate confrontations with the West, have sharply strengthened their cooperation over the past two years. In June, they signed a major defense agreement that requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.

The NIS said last week that North Korea has sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons arsenals.

Reports that the North is sending troops to Russia have fueled security jitters in South Korea. South Korean officials fear that Russia could reward North Korea by providing it with sophisticated weapons technologies that could boost the North’s nuclear and missile programs targeting South Korea.

South Korea said on Tuesday it would consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to the North’s alleged troop deployment. South Korea has sent humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine, but has so far avoided supplying weapons directly to Ukraine, in line with its policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively involved in conflicts.

North Korea has 1.2 million soldiers, one of the largest standing armies in the world, but has not fought in large-scale conflicts since the 1950-53 Korean War. Many experts question how much North Korean troops would help Russia, citing a lack of battle experience. They say North Korea wants Russian economic support and help in modernizing the North’s obsolete conventional weapons systems as well as its high-tech weapons technology transfers.

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Associated Press writer Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.