SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has sent troops to Russia, the United States said Wednesday, its first public confirmation of a move that has rattled Western allies and could mark a major escalation of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
“There is evidence of DPRK troops in Russia,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters in Rome, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
It's a "serious issue," he said, if North Korea's "intention is to participate in this war on Russia's behalf.".
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visiting soldiers from the Korean People's Army, at an undisclosed location on Oct. 17.
South Korean lawmakers said Wednesday that North Korea had sent 3,000 troops to Russia out of a promised 10,000 to be deployed by December.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that two units of North Korean troops, with as many as 6,000 people each, were being trained for deployment.
South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday to demand the withdrawal of the North Korean soldiers and “related cooperation.” »
