The United States confirmed Wednesday that about 3,000 North Korean soldiers are deployed in training at various locations in Russia and warned that these forces would be a “legitimate military target” if they enter combat in Ukraine.
The troop deployment raises the potential for the North Koreans to join Russian forces in Ukraine and suggests the expansion of military ties between the two nations as Moscow seeks to secure weapons and troops to gain ground in a war that is at an impasse after more than two years.
“We have proof that North Korean troops went to (…) Russia,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters in Washington.
The official admitted that he did not know “what exactly they (the North Koreans) are doing”, but warned that “if they intend to participate in this war on behalf of Russia, that is a very, very serious issue”.
Austin’s comments were the first public confirmation from the United States that North Korea has sent troops to Russia – a development publicized by South Korean officials but denied by Pyongyang and Moscow.
According to Washington, “between early and mid-October, North Korea deployed at least 3,000 troops” to eastern Russia, confirming information provided by South Korea.
“We believe these soldiers traveled by boat from the Wonsan region of North Korea to Vladivostok, Russia, and arrived at several Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they are currently training,” a spokesman for the White House, John Kirby.
The United States does not know whether these soldiers will fight alongside the Russian army, he said, although he considers this to be a “very worrying possibility.”
But if so, these soldiers will be “legitimate military targets,” Kirby warned.
