ROME (France 24).– For Lloyd Austin, number one in the United States Department of Defense, it is a “very serious problem” that the North Korean government has sent troops to Russia.
There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia
Austin confirmed the presence of soldiers on Russian soil this Wednesday, October 23, from Rome, ensuring that “it remains to be seen what they will do there.”
“There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia,” the defense secretary said, using North Korea’s formal name: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “What exactly are they doing? It remains visible. “These are things we have to solve,” he added.
Austin also assured that Washington will continue to “pull this thread” to review what is happening with this situation.
He warned that, if the arrival of the uniformed men is for “co-belligerent” purposes and if their intention is to “participate in this war on behalf of Russia,” then it is a “serious” problem in which measures must be taken, but not He gave more details, arguing that analysts are evaluating the situation.
Other US officials who spoke to the Reuters agency on condition of anonymity pointed out that Russia has suffered more than 600,000 soldier casualties in its war against Ukraine and Austin supported this premise, indicating that this could be “further proof” of the “manpower problems of the Russian Army.”
“This is an indication that he might be in even more trouble than most people think. But again, (Russian President Vladimir Putin) was very cautious at first about getting additional weapons and material from the DPRK and then Iran. And now he’s making a move to get more personnel, if that’s the case, if those troops are meant to be part of the fight in Ukraine,” Austin stressed.
Seoul raises its estimate of North Korean soldiers sent to Russia to three thousand
This Wednesday, after meeting with their intelligence services, South Korean legislators indicated that at least three thousand soldiers have been sent by Pyongyang to Russian territory to be trained and, then, presumably fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.
This is a figure that doubles its initial estimate.
Last week, on Friday, October 18, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported that North Korea sent 1,500 special forces soldiers to the Russian east for training and acclimatization at military bases. .
Information that neither the United States nor the Western Military Alliance NATO could initially ratify, but which as the days have passed, the Western allies have confirmed.
Austin’s recent statements add to those of the British Defense Minister, John Healey, who a day earlier declared before his country’s Parliament that “very likely” the transfers of North Korean troops to Russia have already begun.
“For North Korean soldiers to support Russia’s war of aggression on European soil is as shocking as it is desperate,” Healey stressed.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously accused Pyongyang of preparing to send at least ten thousand soldiers to Russia, information that has not been revealed to be investigated.
Military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang
Seoul added that the troops have been supplied with Russian military uniforms and weapons, as well as “fake” identification documents for when they are deployed in combat.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected these accusations, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that there is a strengthening of military relations between Russia and North Korea, although he stated that “it is not directed against third countries.”
And in the last two years, Moscow and Pyongyang have dramatically increased their bilateral cooperation and in June of this year they signed an important defense agreement that requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either of them is attacked.
South Korean intelligence revealed that Pyongyang has shipped artillery shells, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets to Russia in more than 13,000 containers since August last year, based on remains of weapons recovered from the battlefront in Ukraine.
In total, according to Seoul’s calculations, more than eight million artillery shells and rockets have been sent to Russian territory. Both Russia and North Korea deny involvement in arms transfers.
Movements that worry South Korean officials and reinforce Seoul’s hypotheses that, with this help from its northern neighbor to Russia, it could represent a reward of sophisticated weapons technologies for Pyongyang, which could boost its nuclear and missile programs.
In fact, the director of the South Korean intelligence service, Cho Tae-yong, assured lawmakers that another 1,500 North Korean soldiers – in addition to the 1,500 he reported on Friday, October 18 – have entered Russia, raising the total to at least three thousand, noted legislator Park Sunwon, who attended Cho’s closed-door briefing.
Also speaking jointly about the briefing, lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun stated that his country’s intelligence services discovered that the Russian Army is teaching those North Korean soldiers how to use military equipment such as drones and that it is recruiting a large number of interpreters before the language barrier.
Lee quoted the intelligence chief as saying that Russian instructors have a high opinion of the morale and physical strength of North Korean soldiers, but believe they will eventually suffer heavy casualties because they lack an understanding of modern warfare.
The information collected by the South Korean agency also showed that North Korea is possibly relocating the relatives of soldiers chosen to be sent to Russia to special sites to isolate them.
North Korea, which along with Russia is consolidating itself as one of the main adversaries of the great Western powers, has 1.2 million soldiers, and boasts one of the largest armies in the world.
However, the size of its troops has weaknesses analyzed by experts, such as the fact that its soldiers have not fought in large-scale conflicts since the 1950-1953 Korean War, which is why analysts question how much they would actually help. North Korean troops to Russia, citing a lack of battle experience.
