US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said there was evidence to support the claim that North Korean forces were in Russia, but added that it remained to be seen what role, if any, they would play in the war.
“If they are cobelligerents, [if] their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” Austin said.
Satellite imagery suggests that hundreds of North Korean troops left Chongjin port in the country’s northeast and are assembled and training in Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East.
According to defence officials in Seoul and Kyiv, North Korean military officers and engineers are already in Ukraine and helping the Russians use North Korea’s ballistic missiles. Some had been killed in battle, the officials said.