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USA: Nearly 8,000 North Korean troops are on the border with Ukraine

2024-10-31 20:52:04, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States said on October 31 that it has information that nearly 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia's Kursk region, near the border with Ukraine, and that Russia "intends" to deploy them on the battlefield against Ukrainian forces.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US expects troops to be sent to the front line in the coming days. He reiterated that they would become "legitimate military targets" if deployed.

Deployment was high on the agenda as Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Russia has treated North Korean troops for the use of artillery, drones and for basic infantry operations, "implying that it intends to use these forces in front-line operations," Blinken said.

"One of the reasons Russia is using North Korean troops is because it is desperate. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is increasingly sending more and more Russians into the murderous war in Ukraine,” Blinken said.

Now, Blinken said Putin is turning his back on North Korean troops "and that is a clear signal of weakness."

He added that Russia is suffering close to 1,200 casualties a day in eastern Ukraine, the most since the war began in 2022.

Austin called North Korea's troop deployment and Pyongyang's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier on Oct. 31 as "reckless developments."

Earlier in the day, North Korea said it had tested one of its newest and most powerful missiles to bolster its nuclear deterrent.

After the test, the US, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement condemning the test and saying it represented a "flagrant violation" of a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Otherwise, the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia has increased concerns about the further destabilization of the Asia-Pacific region and Moscow's war against Ukraine. South Korea has raised suspicions that North Korea's new military technology may have been offered by Russia in exchange for Moscow's supply of soldiers.

Russia has moved some resources to the border region of Kursk to respond to the ground offensive that Ukraine launched in August, and Moscow's forces are struggling to push back Ukrainian troops.

The US has estimated that there are currently close to 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. Seoul and its allies have estimated that the number has increased to 11,000, while Ukraine has said that this number is higher, 12,000.

Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have directly accepted the deployment of troops./ REL