ROME/SEOUL: The US said for the first time on Wednesday that it had seen evidence of North Korean troops in Russia, and South Korean lawmakers said about 3,000 soldiers had been sent to support the Kremlin‘s war in Ukraine. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said it would be “very, very serious” if the North Koreans were preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged.”There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” Austin told reporters.
In Seoul, South Korean lawmakers said that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia and thousands more were expected to follow. Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000 troops, whose deployment was expected to be completed by December, the lawmakers told reporters after being briefed by South Korea‘s national intelligence agency.
A US official said the US assessed at least 3,000 North Korean troops were transported by ship to the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok in early-to-mid October. Then, they were taken to multiple military sites in eastern Russia, where they have been undergoing training, the US official said. Austin said the alleged deployment shows the Russian military was having problems with manpower.