SEOUL, Nov. 13 (UPI) — North Korean soldiers deployed to the Kursk region of Russia have begun combat operations against Ukrainian forces, the U.S. State Department confirmed Tuesday.
“We are incredibly concerned by Russia’s decision to turn to the DPRK to supply soldiers to continue their brutal war against Ukraine,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said during a press briefing.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
“I can confirm that over 10,000 DPRK 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,” Patel said.
Russia has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicle and infantry operations, including trench clearing, Patel added.
He stressed that the effectiveness of the North Korean troops will be determined by how well the Russians can integrate them into their military.
“Some of the challenges they would need to overcome are interoperability, the language barrier, command and control and communications,” Patel said.
The U.S. confirmation comes on the heels of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ratifying a defense treaty with Russia that calls for mutual military assistance if either country is attacked.
Moscow is pushing to retake areas of the Kursk region of southwest Russia, where Ukrainian forces have occupied hundreds of square miles since a surprise incursion in August.
The New York Times, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials, reported Sunday that Russian troops are amassing 50,000 soldiers, including North Koreans, to launch an imminent assault to regain territory.
South Korean officials have also raised concerns that Moscow may be sharing missile and nuclear technology with Pyongyang in exchange for the troop deployment.
Seoul’s military intelligence said Monday that North Korea’s new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, test-fired on Oct. 31, could have been developed with Russian technical assistance. While the ICBM is believed to have the range to reach the entire continental United States, it remains to be seen whether Pyongyang has the atmospheric re-entry vehicle technology to successfully deliver a nuclear payload.
Doo Jinho, chief of the global strategy division at government-funded think tank Korea Institute Defense Analyses, said Wednesday that acquiring such a capability is a top priority for North Korea.
“There are a couple of items on the bucket list of Kim Jong Un and one of them is the possible transfer of ICBM re-entry tech from Russia,” Doo said at a briefing with international media in downtown Seoul. “I believe that this time around, they will be able to gain the technology from Russia.”
Doo added that North Korea would likely also acquire the necessary advanced military reconnaissance and ground control systems from Russia to support its ICBMs.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to discuss the North Korean troop deployment during meetings with his NATO and European Union counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, Patel said.