U.S. Says 8,000 North Korean Troops Ready For Combat In Kursk Region

The United States said on October 31 that it has information that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine, and Russia "fully intends" to deploy them in combat against Ukrainian troops.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a briefing at the State Department that the United State expects the troops to be sent to the front in the coming days. Blinken reiterated that they would become "legitimate military targets" if they are deployed.

SEE ALSO: North Korean Troops Are 'Fair Game' In Russia's War Against Ukraine

The deployment was at the top of the agenda as Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Russia has been training the North Korean troops on artillery, drones, and basic infantry operation, including trench-clearing, "indicating they fully intend to use these forces in frontline operations," Blinken said at the briefing.

"One of the reasons that Russia is turning to these North Korean troops is that it's desperate. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been throwing more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making in Ukraine," Blinken said.

Now, Blinken said, Putin is turning to North Korean troops, "and that is a clear sign of weakness."

He added that Russia has been suffering some 1,200 casualties a day in eastern Ukraine, more than at any other time during the war.

The meeting that he and Austin held with their South Korean counterparts showed that the United States is focusing increasingly "on the indivisibility of the security" that exists between the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific, Blinken said.

Austin called the deployment of North Korean troops and Pyongyang's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) early on October 31 "reckless developments." North Korea announced early in the day that it had test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent.

SEE ALSO: What North Korean Troops In Russia Mean For Beijing

The United States, South Korea, and Japan earlier on October 31 released a joint statement condemning the ICBM test-launch as a “flagrant violation” of numerous UN Security Council resolutions.

“We strongly urge [North Korea] to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilizing actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.

In response to the test-launch, the United States will work to increase the interoperability of U.S. and South Korean forces, strengthen deterrence, and deepen nuclear and strategic planning efforts through the Nuclear Consultative Group, Austin said. The United States also will increase its regular deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula, he added.

The deployment of the North Korean troops to Russia has fueled concerns that it will further destabilize the Asia-Pacific region and broaden Moscow's war on Ukraine. South Korea has raised questions about what new military technologies North Korea might get from Russia in exchange for supplying troops.

There is a “high possibility” that North Korea will ask for advanced technologies from Russia in exchange for its troops, Kim said.

Russia has had to shift some resources to the Kursk border region to respond to a Ukrainian incursion launched in August, and its forces have struggled to push back the Ukrainian troops.

The United States has estimated there are about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia now. 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. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have directly acknowledged the deployment.

The United States challenged Russia at the United Nations on October 31 on the developments, with Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood demanding an explanation from Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya about the presence of the 8,000 troops in Kursk.

"I have a very respectful question for my Russian colleague: Does Russia still maintain that there are no [North Korean] troops in Russia?" Wood asked.

Nebenzya had no response, but at a Security Council meeting on October 30 he brushed off the reports about North Korean troops as "mere assertions" and questioned why Russia's allies like North Korea could not help Moscow in its war against Ukraine when Western countries claim the right to help Kyiv.

Nebenzya also said that any Russian interaction with North Korea would be "in line with international law."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believes if there is no reaction to the deployment of North Korean troops, Russia will bring more of them into the conflict.

"When the West and various partners did not react to Putin's occupation of our Crimean Peninsula 10 years ago, there were no loud steps, [only] very quiet statements," Zelenskiy said.

Putin followed by launching the full-scale invasion. It is the same pattern with the North Korean troops, Zelenskiy said.

"Putin is checking the reaction of the West," he said.