The US has for the first time confirmed the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia, with the US defence secretary calling it a “very serious” potential escalation in the war in Ukraine.
Lloyd Austin told reporters in Rome: “There is evidence of DPRK [an abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name] troops in Russia,” and warned the move could have ramifications in Europe and Asia.
“If they’re co-belligerents, [and] their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” he added.
His comments came as US intelligence was understood to be preparing to release evidence of North Korean troops moving to Russia’s far east – and as South Korea mulled sending weapons and intelligence personnel to Ukraine in response.
“We know that thousands of DPRK troops are in Russia to be trained. We don’t know what their mission will be or if they’ll go on to fight in Ukraine,” a senior US official said.
Officials in Moscow refused to confirm or deny on Wednesday if North Korean troops were in its territory preparing to fight in Ukraine.
“Where they [North Korean soldiers] are located – please clarify that with Pyongyang,” Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said.
John Healey, the UK Defence Secretary, accused Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of “desperation” for enlisting North Korean soldiers.
Speaking at Trinity House in London to sign a new UK-Germany defence agreement, he told reporters: “It looks highly likely that North Korean troops have been deployed into Russia. It’s certainly not clear yet that they have been deployed to the battlefront.
“We know that North Korea has been providing weapons and ammunition to Russia.”
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He added: “I see this as a sign of desperation, as well as a sign of escalation from North Korea, a sign of depredation from Putin that he is having to reach out and develop a growing alliance of aggression with a country like North Korea.”
Mr Healey stressed that the North Korean development raised concerns not only about the potential for an escalation of the war in Ukraine. He said there was also “an invisible link with security concerns in the Indo-Pacific.”
Military leaders and defence sources have been increasingly worried about future conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, warning in particular of the threat to Taiwan from China.
The Defence Secretary earlier on Tuesday described the deployment of DPRK troops to Russia as “shocking” and “desperate” while speaking to the House of Commons. He added that Ukraine’s allies need to confront the developing Russia-North Korea alliance.
“North Korea already sends significant munitions and arms to Russia in direct violation of multiple UN resolutions. And this developing military co-operation between Russia and DPRK has serious security implications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
“It represents a wider growing alliance of aggression which Nato and the G7 nations must confront.”
Speculation over the deployment of North Korean troops has been mounting for weeks, fuelled by the Ukrainian and South Korean governments.
South Korea’s spy agency warned that 12,000 North Koreans were training to fight alongside Russian soldiers, with 2,600 already acclimatising in Russia’s far east.
Videos appearing to show Pyongyang’s soldiers training at a military base in Russia have circulated online in recent days.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told defence news outlet The War Zone that North Korean troops would arrive in Russia’s Kursk region on Wednesday.
Ukrainian forces have partially occupied the Kursk region since the start of a cross-border offensive in August, and fierce fighting is ongoing in the area.
In exchange for soldiers and missiles, Russia will provide North Korea with money and technology to build up nuclear weapons, Mr Budanov told The Economist.
The first official deployment of non-Russian or non-Ukrainian troops marks a significant shift in the war’s geopolitical landscape.
In June, Putin and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact that included a vow of mutual aid if either country was attacked.
North Korea has been supplying ballistic missiles and ammunition to Russia since 2023.
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