By james art By Tara Kopp and Lolita K. Baldor, Associated Press
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 4:05 in the afternoon
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that North Korean troops dressed in Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, which he called a dangerous and destabilizing development.
Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun as concerns grow over Pyongyang’s deployment of 12,000 troops in Russia.
The United States and South Korea say some North Korean troops are moving toward Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where Kremlin forces are struggling to repel a Ukrainian invasion.
Some North Korean forward units have already arrived in the Kursk area, and Austin said the “probability is quite high” that Russia will use the troops in combat.
North Korea’s move to tighten its relationship with Russia has raised concerns around the world as leaders worry about how it might expand the war in Ukraine and what Russian military aid will be delivered to Pyongyang in return.
Ukrainian UN Ambassador Serhiy Kyslytsia, speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, said they expected up to 4,500 North Korean troops to be at the border this week and begin direct combat operations against Ukrainian forces in November.
Austin said officials were debating what to do with the deployment, which he said had the potential to expand or prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Asked if he could get other nations to become more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that he could “encourage others to take action,” but did not elaborate.
“This is something we will continue to monitor and continue to work with our allies and partners to discourage Russia from using these troops in combat,” Austin said.
Kim said he did not necessarily believe the deployment would spark a war on the Korean Peninsula, but it could increase security threats.
There is a “high probability” that Pyongyang will demand higher technology in exchange for its troops, such as gaining tactical nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, he said through a translator.
Both Kim and Austin called on North Korea to withdraw its troops.
Russia had to shift some resources to the Kursk border region to respond to Ukraine’s offensive. US leaders suggest that the use of North Korean forces to bolster Russia’s defenses shows that Moscow’s losses during the more than two-year war have significantly reduced its military strength.
“They’re doing this because (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has lost a lot of troops,” Austin said, adding that Moscow has a choice between mobilizing more of its own forces or turning to others for help.
He noted that Russia has already sought military weapons from other countries. These include North Korea and Iran.
The US has estimated that there are now about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. But others have put the number higher. And Kyslytsya provided a set of more specific numbers and details to the UN Security Council.
The Ukrainian ambassador said up to 12,000 North Koreans were being trained at five bases in eastern Russia, including at least 500 officers and three generals from the General Staff.
In addition to wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian small arms, Kyslytsya said they would be provided with Russian identification documents “in particular to cover their presence.” He said they are expected to be integrated into units manned by Russian ethnic Asian minorities, including Buryats.
Earlier, a senior South Korean presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a briefing, said more than 3,000 of the North’s forces were believed to have moved to battle zones in western Russia.
A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that North Korean troops were located 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Russia. The official, who was not authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide any additional details.
North Korea has also provided ammunition to Russia, and earlier this month the White House released images of what it said was North Korea sending 1,000 containers of military equipment there by rail.
A key worrying question is what North Korea will get in return for providing the troops. But officials have not yet said specifically what Pyongyang may have asked for or what Moscow has offered.
At their meeting at the Pentagon, Kim and Austin agreed to continue large-scale military exercises, strengthen cooperation on nuclear deterrence and improve their capabilities to deter and respond to North Korean missile launches by improving launch early warning systems, according to a released fact sheet from the Pentagon on Wednesday.
Austin and Kim are scheduled to meet Thursday with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul at the State Department.
___
AP reporters Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, Ilya Novikov in Kiev, Ukraine, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.