US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US has evidence of the presence of North Korean servicemen in Russia, the BBC quoted him as saying.
Earlier, South Korean intelligence services released satellite images that they say prove that North Korean troops have already arrived in Russian units in the Far East and may soon be sent to the war in Ukraine.
The head of the Pentagon emphasized that he does not have information about what tasks are planned for the North Korean military.
"There is evidence that North Korean military personnel are in Russia,", Austin told reporters during a visit to Rome (cited by Reuters). - What exactly are they doing there? This is not yet clear. We need to understand all this."
Earlier, the American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported that Moscow and Beijing agreed to send about 1,000 North Korean military personnel to Russia, who will gain experience of a real war on the Russian-Ukrainian front.
According to the publication, the DPRK military is far from the front line and is being briefed on the logistics, tactics and conduct of modern drone warfare.
Officials have not yet commented on the Wall Street Journal report.