North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin during z meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport in North Korea, on June 19, 2024.Photo by Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin via AP, File

North Korean troops training in Russia are 'fair game' if deployed to Ukraine, U.S. says

South Korea fears Russia may in turn reward North Korea by giving it weapons technologies that could boost its nuclear and missile programs

by · National Post

WASHINGTON — The U.S. said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Russia and are training at several locations, calling the move very serious and warning that those forces will be “fair game” if they go into combat in Ukraine.

The deployment raises the potential for the North Koreans to join Russian forces in Ukraine and suggests expanded military ties between the two nations as Moscow seeks weapons and troops to gain ground in a grinding war that has stalemated after more than two years.

North Korea sending 12,000 troops to help Russia's war in Ukraine: South Korean mediaSouth Korean intelligence has found that North Korea has dispatched 12,000 troops including special operation forces to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, news reports said Friday, a development that could bring a third country into the war and intensify a standoff between North Korea and the West.Hyung-jin Kim And Kim Tong-hyung, 18 Oct 2024Zelenskyy says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russian forces in Ukraine as he pushes 'Victory Plan’Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday his government has intelligence information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against his country, warning that a third nation wading into the hostilities would turn the conflict into a “world war.”Lorne Cook, Mike Corder And Raf Casert, 17 Oct 2024