Several North Korean troops are already fighting inside Ukraine, officials warned — as the Pentagon confirmed that Pyongyang’s troops are being sent to Kursk wearing Russian uniforms and weapons.
After the Pentagon and NATO warned of about 10,000 North Korean troops training in Russia earlier this week, two Western intelligence officials said Wednesday that the soldiers have already been deployed to assist in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, CNN reported.
“It seems that a good many of them are already in action,” one official told the outlet, echoing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Pyongyang fighters were spotted on the frontlines.
The revelation came as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his South Korean counterpart on Wednesday, with the Pentagon chief reiterating that the North Korean forces appeared to be heading to the Kursk region.
Russia has faced an embarrassing setback in the region after Ukraine launched a surprise counter-invasion earlier this year, seizing dozens of villages and destroying the Kremlin’s infrastructure.
Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia planned to use the North Korean troops to bolster its forces in the region and engage in actual combat.
“They’re doing this because Putin has lost a lot of troops,” Austin told reporters.
While officials fear that as many as 13,000 or more North Korean fighters may be deployed along the frontlines, it remains unclear how effective the soldiers will be.
While North Korea touts its military might at 1.2 million soldiers, one of the largest standing armies in the world, it has not fought in a major conflict since the Korean War in the 1950s.
Ukrainian officials said their intelligence department has already intercepted messages from Russian troops complaining about what to do with Pyongyang’s troops given the language barrier and relatively short training stint, according to CNN.
Along with concerns about the additional manpower, Western officials are also worried about what Putin could be offering North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in return for the soldiers and delivery of thousands of weapons and military equipment.
North Korea has sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish the Kremlin’s dwindling supply, according to the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Washington and Seoul fear that if North Korea proves its worth to Russia, the Kremlin might return the favor in kind by providing Pyongyang with advanced technology to improve its nuclear and missile programs.
The threat has prompted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to suggest his nation may change its arms policy and be open to providing military aid to Ukraine.
With Post wire
