About 10,000 North Korean troops are being sent to train in eastern Russia amid growing concerns that Moscow may intend to deploy them in combat, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Oct. 28.
“[W]e are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast near the border with Ukraine,” Singh said.
On Oct. 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government thinks the first North Korean troops will be deployed to combat zones by the end of the month.
Singh described the movement of North Korean troops as a “very serious issue,” adding that their deployment on the battlefield would represent a “further escalation.”
She said it’s unclear, at this point, if more North Korean troops will be sent but the Pentagon is keeping a close eye on the situation.
“This move would have serious implications for Europe and Indo-Pacific security as well,” Singh said. “We are watching this closely and consulting with our Ukrainian partners as well as our allies on the implications of such a dramatic move.”
Singh said there are no limitations on the use of U.S.-provided weapons against North Korean soldiers because “this is a calculation that North Korea has to make. They are sending their soldiers in into a war.”
“If we see DPRK troops moving in and towards the front lines, I mean, they are co-belligerents in the war,” Singh said.
In an Oct. 22 address before the United Nations in New York, a North Korean representative denied reports that the country had sent soldiers to Russia, calling them “groundless rumors.”
