SEOUL/ROME, Oct 23 (Reuters) – The United States said for the first time on Wednesday that it had seen evidence of North Korean troops in Russia, and South Korean lawmakers said about 3,000 soldiers had been sent to support the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine with more to follow.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking in Rome, said it would be “very, very serious” if the North Koreans were preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged, though he said it remained to be seen what they would be doing there. “There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” Austin told reporters, using North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In Seoul, South Korean lawmakers said that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia and thousands more were expected to follow.
Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000 troops, whose deployment was expected to be completed by December, the lawmakers told reporters after being briefed by South Korea’s national intelligence agency. The figure of 3,000 is twice a previous estimate of numbers of troops already in Russia. “Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were detected in September and October,” Park Sun-won, a member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, said after the briefing. “It appears that the troops have now been dispersed to multiple training facilities in Russia and are adapting to the local environment.”
The Ukraine conflict broke out when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022 and has since developed into a war of attrition largely fought along front lines in eastern Ukraine, with huge numbers of casualties on both sides.
Austin said the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was having problems with manpower. The Kremlin has previously dismissed Seoul’s claims about the North’s troop deployment as “fake news” and a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called it “groundless rumours” at a meeting on Monday. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have also denied weapons transfers, but they have pledged to boost military ties and signed a mutual defence treaty at a summit in June. The latest numbers came after Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said on Friday the North had sent some 1,500 special forces personnel to Russia by ship and they were likely to be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine after training and acclimatisation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also accused Pyongyang of preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to Russia. On Tuesday he called on his allies to respond to evidence of North Korean involvement in Russia’s war.
Comment: Rumors and reports of these North Korean troops have been swirling for a while now. Up until now, there was no mention of this from the US government. It makes this administration’s policy of escalation management look totally impotent and even silly. North Korean artillery shells, missiles and missile men are already known to be in Ukraine.
Why is Russia doing this? Because they must. Attrition works both ways. The mighty Red war machine is reeling from three years of SMO. They aren’t collapsing and I doubt they will, but they’re hurting enough to go to Pyongyang, hat in hand, and plead for help. That doesn’t do much for the Kremlin’s reputation. China is clearly okay with this, but South Korea is raising a stink. I expect more support to Ukraine even if it’s done indirectly.
TTG
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1848720716771766752.html#google_vignette
TTG,
Maybe the Kremlin did not go hat in hand to Pyongyang. Maybe the Russians and the North Koreans have signed a secret agreement in which … I don’t know, North Korea gets fast tracked into BRICS? That will really make the South Koreans happy.
James,
Putin did sign an agreement with Kim last June for “strategic cooperation” in all areas. The agreement also contains a mutual defense clause to defend each other against external aggression.
James,
I recall you asking me for a list of bad actors with whom Putin is aligned.
Let me guess, North Korea is actually a pretty nice place with mostly liberty and justice for all. Any flaws in the country are due to the evil US putting pressure on the poor victimized North Koreans.
Oh and a Russian transport airplane full of [ oh so very non-imperial/non-colonizer] weapons was shot down over Sudan by the very rebels that Russia is supporting. More of Russia just reacting to NATO aggression? Sudan is right on Russia’s doorstep after all.
And what do U.S. officials have to say about this?
“U.S. officials as well as East Asian diplomats and congressional aides say
there’s little Washington can do practically
to stymy the blossoming alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang …”
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2024/10/21/scrambling-to-stop-north-korea-russia-embrace-00183727
Well, that’s just not true.
There is something very easy, and inexpensive, that Washington could do to stop pushing Russia towards North Korea (and China and Iran).
Stop supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Try to understand Russia’s security concerns, and stop opposing them.
But of course that wasn’t mentioned as a possibility.
There are quite a number of people on the American elite
who are “all in” in supporting Ukraine,
but seemingly utterly oblivious to the terrible costs of that support.
(E.g, the deindustrialization of Germany,
as well as what was just mentioned.)
Keith,
And the next Eastern European countries should the US stop supporting after Ukraine falls and big Vlad keeps on rolling?