The Biden administration says it has information that some 8000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops.
In a dramatic moment during a UN Security Council meeting this morning, the deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, asked for more time to add to earlier comments condemning the increasing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
“We just received some information, just coming in now, that right now there are some 8000 DPRK soldiers in Kursk Oblast,” Wood said, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea. The Kremlin’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion into Kursk.
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“And I have a very respectful question for my Russian colleague: does Russia still maintain that there are no DPRK troops in Russia? That’s my only question and final point,” he said.
The Russian representative at the meeting, called by Moscow to discuss international peace and security, did not respond to the comment. The session was then adjourned.
The new figure from Wood is a dramatic increase from a day earlier, when Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin would only say “some” of the troops had moved toward Ukraine’s border in the Kursk region.
That would also mean most of the North Korean troops that the US and its allies say have been sent to Russia are now on the Russia-Ukraine border.
It’s become a key topic as US and South Korean leaders meet in Washington, fueling concerns that the presence of those soldiers will further destabilise the Asia-Pacific and broaden Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
“We remain concerned that they’re going to use these troops in combat,” Austin said on Wednesday.
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The US has estimated there are about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. Seoul and its allies assess that the number has increased to 11,000, while Ukraine has put the figure higher, at up to 12,000.
North Korea’s move to tighten its relationship with Russia has raised concerns around the world about how that may expand the war and what Russian military aid will be delivered in exchange.
The main questions revolve around what new military technologies North Korea might get from Russia in exchange for the deployment and whether it might lead other nations to send their own forces to fight in the war.
Also Thursday, North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year, demonstrating a potential advancement in its ability to launch long-range nuclear attacks on the mainland US. Some experts speculated that Russia may have provided technological assistance to North Korea over the launch.
As the meeting in Washington was underway, the US, South Korea and Japan released a joint statement condemning the missile launch as a “flagrant violation” of numerous UN Security Council resolutions and criticising the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, particularly the deployment of the North Korean troops.
“We strongly urge [North Korea] to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilising actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.
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Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were holding talks on Thursday with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Austin had said a day earlier said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment were advancing toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilising development.
Speaking alongside Kim, Austin said officials are discussing what to do about the North Korean deployment, which he acknowledged could “encourage others to take action”. He provided no details.
Kim said he does not necessarily believe the deployment will trigger war on the Korean Peninsula but that it could increase security threats.
There is a “high possibility” that North Korea would ask for advanced technologies from Russia in exchange for its troops, such as receiving tactical nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, he said through an interpreter.
Russia has had to shift some resources to the Kursk border region to respond to Ukraine’s offensive.
“They’re doing this because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has lost a lot of troops,” Austin said, adding that Moscow has a choice between mobilising more of its own forces or turning to others for help.
North Korea also has provided munitions to Russia, and earlier this month, the White House released images it said were of North Korea shipping 1000 containers of military equipment there by rail.
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