Pentagon, South Korea urge North Korea to withdraw troops from Russia

Pentagon and United Nations — 

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, urged North Korea connected Wednesday to retreat from Russia an estimated 10,000 troops, which some countries judge are headed to combat alongside Russia successful its warfare successful Ukraine.

"They're doing this due to the fact that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has mislaid a batch of troops, a batch of troops. And, you know, helium has a prime of either getting different radical to assistance him, oregon helium tin mobilize. And helium doesn't privation to mobilize, due to the fact that past the radical successful Russia volition statesman to recognize the grade of his losses, of their losses," Austin said during a associated quality league astatine the Pentagon.

More than a half-million Russian troops person been killed oregon wounded successful Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale amerciable penetration connected February 24, 2022, U.S. officials say. Russia, they say, is present turning to pariah authorities North Korea to bolster its forces.

"Kim Jong Un didn't hesitate to merchantability retired his young radical and troops arsenic cannon fodder mercenaries," Kim said. "I judge specified activities are a warfare transgression that is not lone anti-humanitarian but besides anti-peaceful."

Western nations person expressed concerns astir what Kim Jong Un's authorities volition get successful instrumentality from Moscow for its troops. North Korea is nether planetary sanctions for its illicit atomic ballistic rocket programs.

The South Korean defence curate said it was apt that North Korea would question atomic weapons and intercontinental ballistic rocket exertion successful speech for the troops, escalating information threats connected the peninsula and crossed the globe.

UN Security Council meeting

At the United Nations, Ukraine — with the enactment of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, Slovenia and Malta — requested the Security Council conscionable to sermon the development.

Russia's envoy dismissed the meeting, saying it was convened to tarnish Moscow with much lies and disinformation, adding it was "bare-faced lies" that North Korean soldiers are successful Russia.

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia's comments appeared to contradict Putin, who past week did not contradict that North Korean troops were presently successful Russia, saying it was up to Moscow to determine however to deploy them arsenic portion of a communal defence information pact that helium signed with North Korean person Kim Jong Un successful June.

Nebenzia went connected to assertion that the Western nations were making accusations astir North Korean troops assisting Moscow to lure South Korea into providing Ukraine with arms.

"We tin spot the Western spectacle successful the Security Council contiguous pursuing different goal. The Zelenskyy authorities and collaborators for 2 years person been trying to compel the Republic of Korea [South Korea] to much actively cooperate with the Kyiv regime, and to person them supply and proviso the much-needed lethal weapons. And here, the anti-Pyongyang frenzied rhetoric is precise convenient for Washington, London and Brussels, due to the fact that their ain proviso is thing that the Kyiv authorities has drained," Nebenzia said. "We bash anticipation that our South Korean colleagues volition beryllium omniscient capable not to autumn for this trick."

Since the warfare started, Seoul has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow and sent some humanitarian and fiscal enactment to Kyiv but has not sent weapons, successful enactment with its argumentation of not arming countries actively engaged successful conflicts. On Tuesday, Seoul said it could see sending weapons to Ukraine successful effect to the North dispatching troops to Russia.

Troop estimates

Ukraine's ambassador said arsenic galore arsenic 12,000 North Korean troops are being trained astatine 5 grooming grounds successful Russia's eastbound subject district.

"This contingent includes astatine slightest 500 officers of the DPRK army, with astatine slightest 3 generals from the wide staff," Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said, utilizing the abbreviation for North Korea's afloat name. "Subsequently, it is planned to signifier astatine slightest 5 units oregon formations from DPRK subject personnel, consisting of 2,000 to 3,000 servicemen each."

The troops' identities are expected to beryllium concealed, Kyslytsya said, and they volition beryllium provided with Russian subject uniforms and weapons and individuality papers. They are apt to beryllium integrated into units with taste minorities from the Asian portion of Russia, helium said.

"According to disposable information, betwixt October 23 and 28, astatine slightest 7 craft carrying subject unit of up to 2,100 soldiers flew from the Eastern Military District to Russia's borderline with Ukraine," Kyslytsya said, adding that they are expected to statesman straight participating successful combat operations against Ukrainian troops successful November.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that a "small number" of North Korean troops person deployed to Russia's Kursk region, wherever they are apt to beryllium utilized successful combat against Ukrainian troops. Kyslytsya told the Security Council that they fig astir 400.

Pyongyang and Moscow are successful adjacent interaction and are entitled to make bilateral relations successful galore fields, said North Korea's envoy, citing their strategical concern treaty.

"If Russia's sovereignty and information interests are exposed to and threatened by continued unsafe attempts of the United States and the West, and if it is judged that we should respond to them with something, we volition marque a indispensable decision," Ambassador Kim Song told the council.

Some information for this communicative was provided by The Associated Press.