S Lloyd J. Austin III (far right) with Antony J. Blinken (next to him) and South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun in Washington DC. Picture: US Department of Defence
North Korea’s entry into Russia’s war against Ukraine is now a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’, says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin III.
He made the comment at a press briefing held at the US State Department in Washington DC after a meeting with senior South Korean officials, accompanied by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“We now assess that North Korea has sent around 10,000 of its soldiers to train in eastern Russia,” Austin says.
“Our most recent information indicates that about 8000 of those (North Korean) soldiers are now in the Kursk Oblast (region).”
He says the US expects the soldiers to deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces in “coming days”.
Austin says Russian forces trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery operations, unmanned aerial vehicle operations and basic infantry tactics like trench clearing.
“The Kremlin has also provided these (North Korean) troops with Russian uniforms and equipment, and all of that strongly indicates that Russia intends to use these foreign forces in frontline operations in its war of choice against Ukraine,” Austin said.
“Make no mistake, if these North Korean troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they make themselves legitimate military targets.”
The US is consulting closely with allies, Austin confirms.
He says the US believes Ukrainian forces have caused more than 1200 Russian casualties a day.
“By ‘tin-cupping’ to North Korea for manpower, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is showing the world another clear sign of weakness.
“The Kremlin’s North Korean gambit just underscores how badly Putin’s war has gone and how much trouble he is in.”
Austin and Blinken both noted it is the first time in more than a century that Russia has welcomed foreign troops on its soil.
Austin also confirmed that the US will continue to supply Ukraine with artillery, anti-air defence, armoured vehicles and munitions and even more help to be spelt out in coming days.
