North Korean troops stationed in Kursk, ready to do battle: US

• As many as 8,000 North Korean troops will be sent to Kursk, US officials said Thursday.
• Although not yet fighting, the US expects to engage in combat “in the coming days.”
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia trained these men in trench warfare and UAVs.

Thousands of North Korean troops have been moved to the Kursk frontline and are expected to join the battle “in the coming days,” top US officials said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as many as 8,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to the battle-hit Russian territory, where Kiev launched its counter-offensive this summer.

“We have not yet seen these forces deployed in combat against Ukrainian forces, but we expect that to happen in the coming days,” Blinken said during a joint news conference with South Korean State Department officials.

He said Russia has trained these soldiers in the use of artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles and infantry operations such as clearing trenches.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin added at the conference that the North Korean soldiers were being equipped with Russian uniforms and equipment.

“All of this strongly suggests that Russia intends to use these foreign forces in front-line operations in its pet war against Ukraine,” Austin said.

“Make no mistake,” he added. “If these North Korean forces engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would make themselves legitimate military targets.”

Blinken and Austin’s comments are Washington’s clearest statements yet about North Korea’s direct involvement in the war.

The Pentagon said Monday that Pyongyang had sent a total of at least 10,000 troops to Russia, supporting an earlier estimate by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Videos of these troops circulating in mid-October appeared to show them training and being outfitted with new equipment.

Both Austin and Blinken called Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s leaning on Pyongyang for manpower a sign that Moscow is feeling the weight of its war strategy in Ukraine.

“One of the reasons Russia is turning to these North Korean forces is because it is desperate,” Blinken said. ‘In Ukraine, Putin has thrown more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making. Now he’s turning to North Korean forces. And that is a clear sign of weakness.’

The new developments come as North Korea and Russia forged closer ties and signed an agreement in June pledging to defend each other if attacked.

Russia, which has sought to avoid Western sanctions by steering its economy heavily toward military production, was accused by South Korea in February of supplying raw materials and food to North Korea in exchange for weapons.

Related stories

Ukrainian forces also said they found North Korean weapons against them. An analysis by the Conflict Armament Research group found that missiles manufactured by Pyongyang this year were likely already fired in Ukraine.

Such reports about North Korea’s relationship with Russia and its involvement in the war have raised questions about the response in the coming weeks from South Korea, which is already one of the fastest growing defense industries in the world.

In March 2024, it became the country with the tenth largest arms export market, following a wave of European countries boosting defense spending as the war raged in Ukraine.

For example, Poland signed a $22 billion deal in November 2023 to buy weapons from South Korea.

Seoul’s laws prohibit the transfer of assault weapons it sells to Ukraine, but the country is now considering the possibility of lifting that ban given Pyongyang’s new involvement in the war.

That measure will likely have to be approved by the South Korean Legislative Assembly.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government has considered sending teams to observe North Korean troops in Ukraine, which it says would not require parliamentary approval. But opposition leaders in Seoul have condemned the move as unconstitutional and say it must be justified by a more direct threat against South Korea.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular business hours.