The U.S. government said there is growing concern that troops dispatched by North Korea could be used in the war in Ukraine. He said he had also conveyed his concerns to China regarding North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia. Reporter Ahn So-young reports.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on the 28th, “We believe North Korea has dispatched approximately 10,000 soldiers to eastern Russia for training.”
[녹취: 밀러 대변인] “We believe that North Korea has sent around 10,000 total soldiers to train in eastern Russia that will probably augment Russian forces. Over the past several weeks we have already seen a portion of those soldiers move closer to Ukraine and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk near the border with Ukraine.”
Spokesperson Miller said this at a briefing on this day, adding, “We have already seen some soldiers moving closer to Ukraine in the past few weeks.”
“We are increasingly concerned that Russia is seeking to use these North Korean troops to fight or support military operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk, close to the Ukrainian border,” he said.
In addition, regarding the Russian House of Representatives’ recent ratification of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed with North Korea, he said, “We continue to have serious concerns about the expansion of the security partnership (between North Korea and Russia).”
The Russian flag is waving on the veranda of a high-rise apartment building on the eastern front in Donetsk, Ukraine, on the 28th.
“Russia must stop provocative remarks.”
In addition, in relation to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s threat that “if Korea sends lethal weapons to Ukraine, it will face fatal consequences,” it emphasized, “Russia must stop making provocative remarks against its neighbors and other countries in the region.”
Spokesperson Miller also said that he had conveyed concerns to China regarding North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia.
[녹취: 밀러 대변인] “We have communicated with the PRC about this matter to make clear that we are concerned about it and that they ought to be concerned about this destabilizing action by two of its neighbors, Russia and North Korea. We have made been making clear to China for some time that they have an influential voice in the region and they should be concerned about steps that Russia has taken to undermine stability. They should be concerned about steps that North Korea has taken to undermine stability and security and we’ll continue to make that clear to them.”
“We have communicated with China to make it clear that we are concerned about this issue and that China should also be concerned about these destabilizing actions by our two neighbors, Russia and North Korea,” he said.
“We have made it clear to China that China has influence in the region and that they should be concerned about steps taken by Russia to undermine stability,” he added.
“They should be concerned about the steps North Korea has taken to undermine stability and security, and we will continue to make that clear,” Miller said.
Spokesperson Miller said that at the U.S.-ROK diplomatic and defense 2+2 talks held in Washington on the 31st, “the main issues discussed will be the expansion of relations with Russia, including North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia, North Korea’s other provocative actions, and our broad commitment to Indo-Pacific security.” “It will be,” he predicted.
This is Ahn So-young from VOA News.
