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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that North Korean troops have been integrated into Russian formations.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said about 10,000 North Korean troops had gathered in the Russian city of Kursk and could enter the fighting in Ukraine at any time soon. (Photo: AFP file)
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the United States expects thousands of North Korean troops massed in Russia to “soon” enter the war against Ukraine.
About 10,000 North Korean troops are believed to be based in the Russian border region of Kursk, Austin said.
“Based on their training, the way they’ve integrated into Russian formations, I fully expect them to be in combat soon,” Austin told reporters during a stopover in the Pacific nation of Fiji. will.”
Austin said he had “not seen significant reporting” of North Korean troops being “actively engaged in combat” to date.
South Korean government officials and a research group said on Thursday that Russia has provided Pyongyang with oil, anti-aircraft missiles and economic aid, in return for which Washington and Seoul have accused it of sending troops.
Kiev has warned that Moscow has now assembled a 50,000-strong force, along with North Korean troops, to retake parts of the border region seized by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine claimed large swathes of Kursk in August during a lightning operation even as its forces were thinly spread across the Donetsk region, which has borne the brunt of nearly three years of fighting.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed. AFP)
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