Some 50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia’s Kursk region have recently entered in combat against Ukrainian forcesaccording to a senior official of the Government of Kyiv to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.
According to this unidentified source, “intense fighting” has broken out on the front in which there have already been casualties among North Korean soldiersinformation that is in line with what was announced this Tuesday by the United States, which has confirmed that North Korean troops have entered into combat with Ukrainian forces.
Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, made the announcement amid growing concern in the West over North Korea’s troop deployment and its impact on Moscow’s protracted war in Ukraine.
“Today I can confirm that More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russiaand most of them have moved to the Kursk region, where they have begun to participate in combat operations with Russian forces,” Patel said.
These evolutions occur a day after North Korea ratified its strategic partnership treaty with Russiawhich includes a mutual defense clause, North Korean state media reported on Tuesday, and after Pyongyang sent troops to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Ukraine and some of its allies, North Korea has already deployed about 11,000 troops to Russia.
Russia, which until now has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in its territory, assures that the treaty with the Pyongyang regime is of “defensive nature and is not directed against the security of third countries”.
In a recent report by the Russian agency TASS, the Russian president, Vladimir Putinmentioned the possibility of both countries carrying out joint military exercises, which would mean another step in deepening their military cooperation.