The United States anticipates that thousands of North Korean soldiers will "soon" engage in combat operations against Ukraine, stated the head of the Pentagon over the weekend.
Lloyd Austin specified that approximately 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are reportedly stationed in the border region of Kursk in Russia, where they are currently "integrating into Russian formations."
"Based on their training and how they have been integrated into Russian formations, I fully expect that they will soon participate in combat," Austin told reporters during a stop in Fiji on Monday.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of Ukraine claims that North Korean soldiers have already been involved in combat against Ukrainian defense forces.
"These are primarily ground forces, (where they are) disguised as the local population of the Far East," said the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Anatoly Barhilevich, during a televised marathon.
"They have the appropriate documentation and have undergone training for operations in the European part," he added.
Earlier, South Korea also reported that North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia are already participating in combat, noting that "their deployment to the battlefield was completed" as of November 13.
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Kiev claims that Moscow, alongside North Korean soldiers, has already assembled around 50,000 troops to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia following the unexpected invasion.
According to an FT report, hundreds of mercenaries from Yemen are also participating in the war in Ukraine as part of the Russian army. FT's journalists spoke with recruits who were promised "lucrative jobs, high salaries," and even Russian citizenship.
However, upon arrival in Russia, they were "forcibly incorporated into the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine," the report states.