10K North Korean troops with Russia, U.S. officials say

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday that a couple thousand of North Korea’s troops were already deployed near the front lines in Ukraine. Pyongyang’s soldiers will likely serve in an infantry role, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. The United States will continue to monitor the troops’ status and operations, he added.

Why is Russia using North Korean troops? The presence of Pyongyang’s troops indicated that Russia was facing manpower shortages and might be struggling to continue its war against Ukraine, Ryder said. Ryder also noted that Pyongyang has provided Russia with munitions for quite some time.

What does North Korea get in return for these troops? Ryder did not say what Pyongyang had received from Russia in exchange for the troops. He promised that Pentagon officials were investigating what North Korea might have received in exchange for sending over 10,000 troops to Russia.

What is Ukraine’s response to all of this? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government was now increasing its cooperation and information exchanges with South Korea. The Seoul government two weeks ago was the first to raise the alarm about North Korean troops arriving in Russia. Zelenskyy said that Russia’s decision to recruit troops from Pyongyang demonstrated the war was now no longer between only two countries.

Ukrainian soldiers can use American-supplied weapons to defend itself against North Korean troops, Ryder said on Tuesday. Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said substantially the same thing—that North Korean troops on the front lines are legitimate targets for Ukrainians.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about how the Cold War intermission is over.