PRATICA DI MARE AIR BASE, Italy—North Korean troops are deploying to Russia—a potentially “very, very serious issue,” according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III—but it remains unclear if Pyongyang’s forces will directly support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“What exactly they’re doing? [That’s] left to be seen,” Austin said Oct. 23 during a stopover at an Italian military base near Rome, prior to returning to the U.S. from a weeklong European trip. “These are things that we need to sort out.”
Austin’s trip included an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Oct. 21 for meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top defense officials there.
“If they are co-belligerents, if their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue,” Austin said. “It will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific as well.”
Austin’s comments are the first official U.S. confirmation that North Korean troops are in Russia. Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence officials have said there are upwards of 10,000 North Korean troops heading to Russia. Speaking after Austin, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said there were at least 3,000 North Korean troops training at three sites in Russia.
“A lot of things to be answered,” Austin said. “Our analysts will continue to work this.”
Austin said American intelligence officials were still trying to assess what role the North Koreans might play. American officials do not know if the North Korean soldiers will be sent to fight in Ukraine, ease Russia’s manpower shortages by guarding rear areas in Russia, or if their presence is intended as a warning to Ukraine that Moscow is determined to fight on.
“Number one, why are the troops there? We’ll continue to pull this thread and see what happens here.”
Russia has already turned to North Korea for ballistic missiles and artillery shells. And Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea in June to discuss military cooperation. But the use of North Korean personnel would mark a major increase in Pyongyang’s help for Moscow’s war effort.
“There is a strengthened relationship, for lack of a better term, between [the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and Russia. You’ve seen DPRK provide arms and munitions to Russia—and this is a next step,” Austin said, using the formal acronym for North Korea.
Austin said it was unclear what North Korea would gain from the deployment, but suggested it was a sign of Russia’s weakness. The Pentagon said Russia is facing its highest casualties of the war in recent weeks, and more than 600,000 casualties since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“This is an indication that [Putin] may be even in more trouble than most people realize,” Austin said.
“He went tin-cupping early on to get additional weapons and materials from the DPRK and then from Iran,” Austin said. “And now he’s making a move to get more people if that is the case if these troops are designed to be a part of the fight in Ukraine. But we’ll see.”