Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin indicates that North Korea has dispatched military personnel to Russia.
It appears that indications suggest North Korean soldiers have traversed to Russia, according to Austin, who spoke to the press in Rome on Wednesday. The specific purpose of their visit is yet to be disclosed.
Ukraine and South Korea have raised concerns that North Korea has deployed vast numbers of troops to Russia, to aid Russia in its confrontation with Ukraine. A US intelligence insider confirmed to CNN that over a thousand North Korean soldiers are currently stationed in Russia.
Austin stated that the US is still assessing the role North Korea will play in the conflict and whether they plan to engage in combat on Russia's behalf.
If North Korea ends up being a supporting party in this war, aiming to battle on Russia's behalf, this is a highly serious matter, asserted Austin. The consequences will not be confined to Europe; they will also reverberate in the Indo Pacific region.
Asked about the incentives North Korea might be receiving in exchange for aiding Russia with manpower, Austin hinted that the US is still unaware of these details.
Recently, Moscow and Pyongyang have been strengthening their anti-United States military alliance, which has provoked unease among officials based in Kyiv and Washington.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously alerted a NATO summit that around 10,000 soldiers and technical personnel are being readied for battle on Russia's behalf.
A source from Ukrainian intelligence earlier told CNN that a small group of North Koreans have been collaborating with the Russian military, primarily in engineering and exchanging knowledge about the application of North Korean ammunition.
In the meantime, South Korea's intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Service, revealed last Friday that North Korea has dispatched approximately 1,500 soldiers, including special forces personnel, to Russia for training.
Austin also mentioned that the potential involvement of North Korea in the conflict could have significant implications for politics in the Indo Pacific region.
Given the growing military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang, some political analysts are questioning whether North Korea is seeking to expand its political influence beyond the Korean Peninsula.
