North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine, Pentagon says

By Lorne Cook and Tara Copp

North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in Ukraine within “the next several weeks,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Monday.

Singh said some of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine.

“We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk” region, she told reporters.

Singh said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has already publicly cautioned that should North Korea’s soldiers be used on the battlefield, they would be considered belligerents and legitimate targets and that their use would have serious implications for security in the Indo-Pacific as well.

Austin is meeting with his South Korea counterparts later this week at the Pentagon, where the use of the North Korean soldiers in Ukraine is expected to be discussed. Singh said there would not be limitations on the