Suva – The Pentagon, or the United States Department of Defense, has stated that thousands of North Korean (DPRK) troops currently stationed in Russia will “soon” join the combat against Ukraine. These Pyongyang soldiers are reportedly being integrated into Moscow’s military formations.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a statement reported by AFP on Saturday (November 23, 2024), said approximately 10,000 North Korean troops are believed to be stationed in Kursk, a Russian border region, where they are “integrated into Russian formations.”
“Based on the training they have received and the way they have been integrated into Russian formations, I fully expect to see them engaged in combat soon,” Austin told reporters during a stopover in Fiji, a Pacific island nation.
Austin noted that he has “not yet seen significant reports” of North Korean forces being “actively engaged in combat” so far.
South Korean government officials and local research groups reported on Thursday (November 21) that Russia has supplied anti-aircraft missiles, oil, and economic assistance in exchange for North Korean troops being deployed to Moscow.
South Korea’s top security advisor Shin Won Sik said Seoul has detected that “equipment and anti-aircraft missiles intended to strengthen Pyongyang’s vulnerable air defense system” have been delivered to North Korea.
According to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, as cited by the BBC, the oil supplies are “payments” for the weapons and troops Pyongyang has sent to Moscow.
Neither Russia nor North Korea has issued a direct response to these reports.
Ukraine previously warned that Russia, along with North Korean troops, has now amassed a force of 50,000 personnel to reclaim border areas that Kyiv’s forces had taken in recent months.
Ukrainian military forces claimed to have taken control of several areas in Kursk last August during a ground assault that crossed the Russian border.
