North Korean troops reportedly on Russian front lines amid escalation fears
Al Jazeera
A combat role for Pyongyang’s troops risks the entry of a third state into the conflict prompted by Moscow’s invasion in 2022.
Thousands of North Korean troops are now on the ground in Russia ready to support its war on Ukraine, including in the front-line Kursk region, South Korea has reported.
Over 10,000 North Korean soldiers have arrived in Russia, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Tuesday. The report follows similar announcements from Ukraine and the United States, with fears rising that the deployment of Pyongyang’s forces on the battlefield could mark an escalation of the war to include a third state.
“More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are currently in Russia, and we assess that a significant portion of them are deployed to front-line areas, including Kursk,” spokesman Jeon Ha-kyou told a briefing.
The remarks came hours after the US Pentagon said that at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Kursk. Ukraine’s forces control parts of the border region following an incursion launched in August.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency has said that about 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, are in Russia, undertaking training at military bases.
