Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, with troops
Lloyd Austin, United States secretary of defence, says North Korea has deployed troops to Russia.
Austin’s comments are a confirmation from the US days after Seou’s spy agency warned that North Korea has started sending troops to fight with Russia.
The warning came a day after Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war, based on intelligence information.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin and North Korea have forged increasingly friendly ties.
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“We are seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops that have gone to Russia,” Austin told reporters in Rome on Wednesday.
“What, exactly, they’re doing is left to be seen. We’re trying to gain better fidelity on it.”
The US defense secretary said it is a “serious issue,” if North Korea’s “intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf”.
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Vedant Patel, state department deputy spokesperson, said the development is “highly concerning”.
Patel said the US is consulting with its allies and partners “on the implications of such a dramatic move”.
Last month, Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, paid Russian President Vladimir Putin a two-day visit.
The North Korean president’s last visit to Russia was in 2019 and he had not met any foreign official since March 2020.
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The leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space centre in Russia, where Putin said Moscow will help Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, to build satellites.
Putin also said the North Korea-Russia relationship would be Moscow’s number one priority regarding foreign policy.
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