8,000 North Korean Troops Deployed in Russia's Kursk Region, Blinken

Around 8,000 North Korean troops have been deployed in Russia's western Kursk region and are ready to join battle "in the coming days," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Those forces will be considered "legitimate" military targets if they engage in combat, he added.

Blinken announced this on Thursday at a press conference after a "two-plus-two" meeting at the State Department in Washington, which was attended by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, the Yonhap News Agency said. The meeting was set against the backdrop of the North's recent test of a solid-fuel ICBM, which pushed tensions to a new level just before the U.S. presidential election.

According to Blinken, "we now estimate that there are around 10,000 North Korean troops in total in Russia, and the latest we have is that up to 8,000 of those North Korean troops have been sent to the Kursk Region." "We haven't seen them commit to combat yet against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the coming days.".

Blinken said that Russia has been training North Korean troops in artillery, drones, and infantry operations like trench clearing, implying Moscow's intent to use these forces in front-line combat roles. "Should these troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets," he warned.

Defense Secretary Austin made similar statements about the concern that North Korean forces will be involved in battle. "We are consulting closely with our allies and partners in other countries in the region on these reckless developments and on our response," he said.

South Korea's Defense Minister Kim continued by stating that North Korea has also given "major military support" to Russia, including over "1,000 missiles and nearly 10 million artillery rounds".

Blinken termed the trend of North Korean troops employed by Russia as an indication of "desperation". This is because "Putin has been throwing more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making in Ukraine."

Now he is reaching out to North Korean forces, and that's an obvious indicator of vulnerability. Blinken highlighted the tremendous loss incurred on the Russian side, "Russia has been sustaining some 1,200 casualties a day in the east, more than at any other time in the war, and with the mobilization of these North Korean troops to Russia and now to the front lines, this is the first time in 100 years that Russia has invited foreign troops into its country.

When asked about China's role, South Korean Defense Minister Kim suggested that even though Beijing currently is on a "wait-and-see" posture, if the situation worsens to threaten its strategic interests, Beijing might intervene.