North Korean military units have been deployed to the Russian border region of Kursk, Ukraine’s military intelligence service said Thursday. Kursk was the site of a major Ukrainian incursion this summer.
"The first units of the military from the DPRK, which were trained at the eastern Russian training grounds, have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, on October 23, 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region," the intelligence service said in a statement.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
The intelligence service said about 12,000 North Korean soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals, are being trained at five Russian military bases.
Earlier Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny a U.S. claim that North Korea has dispatched 3,000 troops to Russia but said it was up to Moscow to decide how they might be deployed, including possibly sending them to fight on the front lines against Ukraine.
Top U.S. officials said Wednesday the North Korean troops sailed to Russia earlier in October and then were sent to several military training sites. The U.S. voiced concern they subsequently could be fighting alongside Russian troops in Moscow’s 32-month war against Ukraine, a major escalation of the conflict.
Putin, asked by a reporter about satellite imagery showing North Korean troop movements, said, "Images are a serious thing. If there are images, then they reflect something."
But he contended the West had escalated the war in Ukraine by sending NATO officers and instructors to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia.
"We know who is present there, from which European NATO countries, and how they carry out this work," Putin said.
The Kremlin leader specifically mentioned Article 4 of the Russian partnership pact with North Korea that deals with mutual defense.
"There is Article 4. We have never doubted in the least that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. But what we do within the framework of this article is our business," Putin said.
He said that Russia's army was advancing along all sections of the front in Ukraine and had trapped large numbers of Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region.
Putin’s comments came as the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, ratified the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty that he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to Pyongyang in June. The upper house is expected to follow suit soon.
The pact obliges Russia and North Korea to immediately provide military assistance using "all means" if either is attacked. It marked the strongest link between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Wednesday that what Pyongyang’s soldiers are doing in Russia is “left to be seen.” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. is “working closely with our allies and partners to gain a full understanding of the situation.”
“We do not yet know whether these soldiers will enter into combat alongside the Russian military” in Ukraine, but the possibility is “certainly a high concern,” Kirby said.
“We have briefed the Ukrainian government on our understanding of this situation, and we're certainly consulting closely with other allies, partners and countries in the region on the implications of such a dramatic group move, and on how we might respond,” Kirby said.
“For the time being, we will continue to monitor the situation closely, but let's be clear: If North Korean soldiers do enter into combat, this development will demonstrate Russia's growing desperation in its war against Ukraine,” Kirby added.
“Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield every single day, but President Putin appears intent on continuing this war,” Kirby said.
On the battlefront, officials in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv said Thursday that Russia attacked the region with about a dozen drones overnight.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all the drones and that there were no reports of casualties or damage.
In the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, Governor Vitalii Kim said on Telegram the military shot down three Russian drones.
Russia’s defense ministry said Thursday it destroyed seven Ukrainian aerial drones, including four over the Kursk region and three over the Black Sea. Officials in Russia’s Bryansk region also reported several drones were shot down there overnight.
VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
