US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that North Korean soldiers with Russian uniforms and equipment are moving towards Russia's Kursk region, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, after the Pentagon announced that thousands of North Korean soldiers had been transferred to Russia.
More than 3,000 North Korean troops are moving toward the war zone in western Russia, a senior South Korean government official said, according to the AP.
Austin said the “probability is very high” Russia to use North Korean soldiers for fighting.
He said officials were discussing what to do about the deployment of North Korean forces, which he said could widen or prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Asked if this could prompt other countries to become more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that it could “encourage others to take action” but did not provide details.