North Korea has sent some 10,000 troops to train in Russia, the Pentagon said on Monday, as NATO and the EU expressed concern about a dangerous escalation of the conflict.
Moscow and Pyongyang have stepped up military cooperation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but the involvement of North Korean troops in combat would mark a significant shift.
“We believe that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has sent approximately 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia,” which will “likely” lead to “reinforcements of Russian forces near Ukraine in the coming weeks,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.
“Some” of those soldiers “have already moved closer to Ukraine,” she added.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol responded to the Pentagon’s announcement, condemning today “the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” which he called “a serious threat to global security.
North Korean generals may also be heading to the Ukrainian front, a South Korean lawmaker speculated today, citing his country’s intelligence services.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the number of North Korean troops stationed in Russia could soon reach “12,000,” based on estimates from Ukrainian intelligence services, and expressed concern that they could then be deployed to the Ukrainian front.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden called the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia “very dangerous.
The U.S. has also briefed Beijing on the situation, stressing that China “should be concerned about the destabilizing actions of its two neighbors, Russia and North Korea,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
