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| ▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (in leather jacket) waves toward soldiers during a visit to a special operations unit's training base in western Pyongyang on Oct. 2, 2024, a day after South Korea's Armed Forces Day, in this file photo provided by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
N Korea-Russia-deployment
Senior U.S. official confirms 'thousands' of N. Korean troops in Russia to be trained
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. administration official confirmed Wednesday that thousands of North Korean troops are in Russia "to be trained," while Washington does not know for what mission they were sent there.
The official made the comment in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly said the United States is seeing evidence that Pyongyang has dispatched its soldiers to Russia.
"We know that thousands of DPRK troops are in Russia to be trained. We don't know what their mission will be or if they'll go on to fight in Ukraine," the official said via email. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"But we do know that if they do this, it signals President Putin's growing desperation in his war against Ukraine. Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield every day. If Russia needs to turn to DPRK for manpower, that's a sign of desperation -- not strength -- on the part of the Kremlin," the official added.
Hours earlier, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that around 3,000 North Korean soldiers were believed to have been sent to Russia so far to support its ongoing war against Ukraine, with a total of 10,000 expected to be deployed by December.
The NIS shared the information with lawmakers during a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to officials.
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