WILMINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Monday said that North Korea sending thousands of troops to Russia was a very dangerous development, amid Western fears that they will be used for Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Very dangerous,” Biden responded to a question about the North Korean deployment, as he spoke to reporters after casting his early vote in the US presidential election in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Russia and North Korea have expanded their political and military alliance in the course of the conflict in Ukraine, but the deployment of Pyongyang’s troops into combat against Kyiv’s military would mark a significant escalation.
The Pentagon said on Monday that North Korea has sent around 10,000 troops to train in Russia, more than tripling the previous estimate as NATO warned of a dangerous expansion of the Ukraine war.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed the deployment, explaining that North Korean forces are being trained in eastern Russia, with some already moving closer to Ukraine.
“We believe that North Korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers in total to train in eastern Russia, and they will likely augment Russian forces near Ukraine over the next several weeks,” Singh said.
Singh expressed concern that these troops could be deployed into combat zones against Ukrainian forces. “A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we 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,” she added.
The number of North Korean soldiers in Russia may grow further as the situation evolves. Singh suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be turning to North Korea as his forces continue to suffer mounting casualties in Ukraine. The US has previously estimated that Russia has endured hundreds of thousands of casualties since the conflict began.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby earlier estimated North Korean troop numbers in Russia at more than 3,000 as of October 23. Kirby warned that if North Korean troops join the fight in Ukraine, they could become “legitimate military targets.”
Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte condemned the North Korean troop deployment, calling it a dangerous expansion of the Ukraine conflict that reflects Putin’s increasing desperation. “This action by North Korea to bolster Russia’s war effort in Ukraine is deeply concerning, as it could shift the dynamics on the battlefield in ways that widen this conflict,” Rutte said.
NATO confirmed on Monday that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to bolster its forces in the ongoing war against Ukraine and that some have already been deployed in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Russian forces have been struggling to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, North Korean soldiers have already been deployed to the Russian border region of Kursk, where Russian forces have faced renewed Ukrainian offensives.
“Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,” Rutte said at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He described North Korea’s participation as “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war” and a “significant escalation” in the conflict.
Rutte’s comments followed a high-level briefing by a South Korean delegation, comprising intelligence and military officials, to NATO’s 32 member ambassadors. The alliance is now consulting with Ukraine and its Indo-Pacific allies on how to respond to this new development.
Rutte confirmed plans to speak with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defence minister to closely monitor the unfolding situation.
The deployment of thousands of North Korean troops into the European conflict raises new concerns for Ukraine’s already strained forces and adds to escalating geopolitical tensions across Asia, where Japan, Australia, and other nations in the Indo-Pacific region are keeping a watchful eye.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, referencing intelligence reports, stated that North Korean troops could arrive on the battlefield imminently. Zelenskyy previously indicated that an estimated 10,000 North Korean soldiers were preparing to join Russian forces.
Days earlier, US and South Korean officials had released evidence pointing to North Korea’s involvement, with the US reporting that around 3,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia for training.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to reshape global alliances have included strengthened ties with non-Western countries, including at a recent BRICS summit in Russia, where he met with leaders from China and India in a bid to counterbalance Western influence.
