The number of North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region has risen by about 2,000, the Pentagon said on Monday, bringing the total in the area bordering Ukraine to some 10,000.
“We think that the total number of DPRK forces in Russia … could be closer to around 11 to 12,000”, with “at least 10,000 right now in the Kursk Oblast”, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name.
Top US officials had last week put the number of Pyongyang’s soldiers in Kursk – where Ukrainian troops have been conducting a ground offensive since August and control several hundred square miles of Russian territory – at about 8,000 out of a total of 10,000 in Russia.
Ryder said he expected other North Korean troops in Russia to likewise be sent to Kursk, but added that the Pentagon could not at this point confirm reports that they have entered combat.
02:22
North Korea says highest-ever missile test was new Hwasong-19 capable of striking the US
North Korea says highest-ever missile test was new Hwasong-19 capable of striking the US
Some 11,000 North Korean soldiers have already arrived in the Russian border area of Kursk, according to Ukraine.
“We see an increase in the number of North Koreans, but we see no increase in the response of our partners. Unfortunately,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening video message.
