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Washington and Kyiv have warned that North Korean troops are expected to enter combat alongside Russia’s army in the coming days, in what would be the first foray by a foreign military into the war launched by Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday raised the alarm over Moscow’s deepening military collaboration with Pyongyang, saying that his army was likely to face North Korean troops in the western Russian region of Kursk in “days, not months”.
The president’s comments were followed by a stark warning from US secretary of state Antony Blinken and US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who said that as many as 8,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to the Kursk region.
The US had not seen the troops “deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces but we would expect that to happen in the coming days”, Blinken said, speaking alongside Austin and their counterparts from South Korea after a meeting at the state department.
Zelenskyy said that at least 3,000 North Koreans were at a “training camp” in the Russian region of Kursk, where his troops are occupying some 600 sq km of land taken during a surprise incursion in August.
Washington’s assessment added fresh detail to recently disclosed US intelligence indicating that about 10,000 North Korean troops were in Russia. Zelenskyy and Ukrainian intelligence officials have said that there are upwards of 12,000 North Koreans in the country, including several hundred special forces, 500 officers and three generals.
Kyiv’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday that Ukraine had identified the generals as Colonel General Kim Young Bok, deputy chief of the general staff for special forces operations; Colonel General Lee Chang Ho, deputy chief of the general staff and head of the reconnaissance directorate; and Major General Shin Geum Cheol, head of the main operational directorate.
Kyslytsya said the training of North Korean troops in the Russian Far East “is being conducted by experienced Russian military instructors from the airborne forces and special operations units.”
He added that the first group of up to 2,100 soldiers had been flown on at least seven Russian military aircraft to a location in the Kursk region between October 23 and 28.
Senior Ukrainian intelligence officials told the Financial Times that the North Koreans were then transported by civilian trucks to a staging area 50km from the border with Ukraine, where they are being prepared to enter the fighting.
Blinken said Russia has trained the troops in artillery, drones and basic infantry operations such as trench clearing. The troops have also received Russian uniforms and equipment, according to Austin.
“All of that strongly indicates that Russia intends to use these foreign forces in frontline operations in its war of choice against Ukraine,” he said.
Should North Korean troops enter the fighting, they would be “legitimate military targets”, said Blinken.
Ukrainian officials and some military analysts have questioned the experience and quality of the North Korean troops, saying that Moscow could use them as “cannon fodder,” as they have done with their own infantry forces in a brutal tactic known as “meat waves”.
Zelenskyy said in a statement and in an interview with South Korean media on Thursday evening that Pyongyang had also provided 3.5mn artillery shells and an unknown number of missiles to Russia over the course of its invasion of Ukraine.
He also said that discussions were under way between Moscow and Pyongyang to supply engineering troops and civilian workers from North Korea to support Russia’s ground operations and the production of military equipment.
Zelenskyy said that closer collaboration and more military assistance was needed from Ukraine’s partners, including South Korea, to combat the intensifying alliance between North Korea and Russia.
He reiterated his calls for the US to lift a ban on the use of long-range weapons inside Russia, arguing they would allow Kyiv to strike its invaders before they could launch attacks.
He also argued that closer collaboration between Kyiv and Seoul would be “mutually beneficial” as South Korea “would get relevant experience in this war”.
Austin and Blinken said Washington had discussed the arrival of North Korean troops in Russia with China, which should be concerned about the development, they said.
“If China is serious about its desire for de-escalation, it should be asking Russia some hard questions at this point,” Austin said.