U.S. “seeing evidence” of North Korean troops in Russia as Ukraine war rages, Defense chief Lloyd Austin says Defense director Lloyd Austin said that the United States is “seeing evidence” of North Korean forces in Russia as the conflict in Ukraine continues.
U.S. “seeing evidence” of North Korean troops in Russia as Ukraine war rages, Defense chief Lloyd Austin says Washington — The U.S. is “seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops in Russia,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Tuesday, the first time a senior U.S. official has spoken on the apparent strengthening of links between two of the country’s most significant enemies. The North Korean deployments to Russia were first criticized by South Korean authorities last week, who said that Seoul’s intelligence services had proof that North Korean commandos were transferred to Russia en route to join Moscow’s ongoing assault of Ukraine.
Regarding the North Korean troops in Russia, Austin stated, “It’s unclear exactly what they’re doing.” He said the things to reporters while he was in Rome.
He claimed that if North Korean forces were about to join Russia’s battle in Ukraine, it would be a sign that Putin, whose forces have been gaining territory recently, would be in more trouble than most people think. According to certain officials, hundreds of Russian troops have been lost in the process of Ukraine’s front line gains.
Officials in South Korea believe that Russia is training Northern troops to fight on that front line. According to South Korean intelligence estimates, there are currently roughly 3,000 Northern troops in Russia; however, Ukrainian officials have also been keeping a close eye on the situation, and both South Korean officials and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have stated that the North may send over 10,000 troops to Russia by the end of the year.