North Korea is set to send approximately 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in the Ukraine war within the coming weeks, according to a Pentagon announcement. Western leaders warn this move could escalate the nearly three-year conflict and further strain regional relations.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed Monday that some North Korean troops are already near Ukraine, reportedly heading to the Kursk border area, where Russia faces ongoing Ukrainian resistance. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, citing Ukrainian intelligence, noted that North Korean units had already reached the region.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called the cooperation between North Korea and Russia a “significant threat” to global security, cautioning that it endangers South Korea’s national security.
Meanwhile, North Korean state media reported a high-level delegation led by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is visiting Russia, marking a new chapter in the two nations’ alliance amid the Ukraine conflict. Russia’s embassy in Pyongyang described the visit as part of a “strategic dialogue.”
The addition of North Korean soldiers to the war will likely place further strain on Ukraine’s exhausted forces and could heighten tensions across the Indo-Pacific region, according to Western officials. The collaboration aligns with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategy to counterbalance Western influence. Russia recently hosted a BRICS summit, strengthening ties with China and India, while also seeking military support from Iran and North Korea, which have provided drones and ammunition, respectively.
Rutte labeled the deployment “a dangerous expansion” of North Korean involvement in Ukraine, while U.S. President Joe Biden called it “very dangerous.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss the implications of North Korean troops in Ukraine with South Korean officials in Washington later this week.
Singh emphasized that U.S.-provided weapons would have no restrictions in their use against North Korean forces, should they move to the front lines, warning North Korea of its involvement’s potential consequences.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed Rutte’s concerns, referring to a joint security pact signed with North Korea in June, though he didn’t confirm the presence of North Korean troops. Lavrov accused the West of covertly deploying military instructors to assist Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine faces heavy pressure from Russian forces in Donetsk, where Russia recently captured the village of Tsukuryne. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, Ukrainian officials worry that a Trump victory could reduce critical U.S. military support.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, a South Korean delegation briefed the alliance’s 32 ambassadors, though no concrete evidence of North Korean forces in Kursk was presented. NATO’s response to North Korea’s involvement remains uncertain, with some speculating that restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons could be relaxed to allow for strikes deeper into Russian territory.
