North Korean soldiers have begun fighting alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
“Over 10,000 [North Korean] soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” Reuters quoted Patel as saying.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Russia had assembled about 50,000 troops in the Kursk region, including both Russian and North Korean soldiers. The paper said Ukrainian officials expected Russia to launch a counteroffensive in the region, which is partially occupied by Ukrainian forces, in the coming days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 7 that North Korean soldiers stationed in the Kursk region had already sustained losses.
North Korean troops in Russia
- Pyongyang ratifies strategic partnership with Russia that reportedly contains secret clause authorizing North Korea’s Ukraine intervention
- Record number of North Koreans arriving in Russia for ‘studies’ coincides with reports of North Korean troops being sent to the country
- Putin joins unscheduled meeting at Kremlin with North Korea’s foreign affairs minister
- Russia reportedly to pay North Korean soldiers $2,000 per month to fight against Ukraine