Written by: TARA COPP, MATTHEW LEE and EDITH M. LEDERER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 8,000 North Korean troops are now in Russia near the Ukrainian border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days, the Biden administration said Thursday.

The new figure represents a dramatic increase from a day earlier, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said only “some” troops were moving toward the Ukrainian border, toward the Kursk region where Moscow’s forces are based. Struggled to repel Ukrainian attack

This also means that many of the North Korean troops that the United States and its allies say were sent to Russia are now on the Russia-Ukraine border.

The United States estimates there are approximately 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia. While Seoul and its allies assessed the number to have risen to 11,000, Ukraine increased the figure to 12,000.

At a news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterparts, Blinken said of the 8,000 troops at Kursk that “we have not yet seen those troops fighting against Ukrainian forces, but we expect that to happen in the coming days.” .

He said Russia had trained North Korean soldiers in artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing,” indicating they planned to fully use those forces in front-line operations.

North Korea’s move Tighten relations with Russia Concerns arose worldwide about how this might expand the war and what Russian military aid would be provided in return.

The issue has become a hot topic as U.S. and South Korean leaders meet in Washington this week, raising concerns about the U.S. presence. those soldiers Will further destabilize and expand the Asia-Pacific Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul condemned the deployment “in the strongest possible terms” and called for the immediate withdrawal of troops. He said North Korea’s aggressive actions put not only the European continent but also the Korean peninsula under threat and that Seoul agreed to “take appropriate measures accordingly.”

There are questions about what new military technologies North Korea might receive from Russia in exchange for deployment and whether that could lead to other nations sending their own forces to fight in the war.

Also Thursday North Korea tests intercontinental ballistic missile For the first time in almost a year, it revealed a potential breakthrough in the ability to launch a long-range nuclear attack on the US mainland. Some experts have suggested that Russia may have provided technological assistance to North Korea during the launch.

As the meeting in Washington continued, the United States, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement condemning the missile launch as a “blatant violation” of several U.N. Security Council resolutions and criticizing the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, especially the deployment. From North Korean troops.

“We strongly urge North Korea to immediately halt its series of provocative and destabilizing actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.

In a dramatic moment at a U.N. Security Council meeting early Thursday, Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood noted for the first time the number of North Korean troops near Ukraine.

“And I have a very respectful question for my Russian colleague: Does Russia still maintain that there are no North Korean troops in Russia? “This is my only question and final point,” he said.

The Russian representative at the meeting called by Moscow to discuss international peace and security did not respond to the comment. The session was then adjourned.

Austin said North Korean troops were wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment as they advanced towards Ukraine, a dangerous and destabilizing development.

North Korea has also supplied munitions to Russia, and earlier this month the White House released images it said were of the North Korean shipment. 1,000 containers of military equipment there by rail.

Lederer reported from the United Nations. Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Illia Novikov in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

First Publication Date: October 31, 2024 12:35 CDT