INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States said for the first time on Wednesday that it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for
possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that could mark a significant escalation in Russia&s war against its neighbor.U.S
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking in Rome, said it would be &very, very serious& if the North Koreans were preparing to fight
alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Kyiv has alleged
But he said it remained to be seen what they would be doing there, Reuters reported.&There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in
Russia,& Austin told reporters, using North Korea&s formal name, the Democratic People&s Republic of Korea.Speaking to reporters later on
Wednesday White House spokesperson John Kirby said the United States believes at least 3,000 North Korean troops are undergoing training at
three military bases in eastern Russia.The U.S
determined the North Korean soldiers were transported by ship in early-to-mid October from North Korea&s Wonsan region to the eastern
Russian city of Vladivostok before being taken to three military training sites in eastern Russia, said Kirby.&If they do deploy to fight
against Ukraine, they&re fair game,& he said
&They&re fair targets and the Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean soldiers the same way they&re defending
themselves against Russian soldiers.&In Seoul, South Korean lawmakers said that Pyongyang had promised to provide a total of about 10,000
troops, whose deployment was expected to be completed by December, the lawmakers told reporters after being briefed by South Korea&s
national intelligence agency.&Signs of troops being trained inside North Korea were detected in September and October,& Park Sun-won, a
member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, said after the briefing.The Ukraine conflict broke out when Russia invaded its neighbor in
February 2022 and has since developed into a war of attrition largely fought along front lines in eastern Ukraine, with huge numbers of
casualties on both sides.The United States said the alleged North Korean deployment could be further evidence that the Russian military was
having problems with manpower.The Kremlin has previously dismissed Seoul&s claims about the North&s troop deployment as &fake news& and a
North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called it &groundless rumors& at a meeting on Monday.Both Moscow and Pyongyang
have also denied weapons transfers, but they have pledged to boost military ties and signed a mutual defense treaty at a summit in
June. The post US says evidence shows North Korea has troops in Russia, possibly for Ukraine war first appeared on Ariana News.
