Amid rising concerns over the possible deployment of North Korean troops to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly confirmed their presence within Russian borders.
Satellite imagery, released by South Korea's intelligence service, allegedly depicting these soldiers on Russian soil, was the topic of Putin's recent address to foreign journalists.
"Images are a serious thing; if there are images, they reflect something," Putin stated, according to Newsweek. He also drew attention to the recently ratified security treaty between Russia and North Korea, which encompasses a clause for mutual defense. "As for our relations with the DPRK, the treaty was ratified today; it has Article 4. We have never doubted that North Korean leadership takes the agreement seriously," Putin added.
The Russian defense ministry has been contacted for further clarification. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Wednesday the existence of evidence pointing to North Korean troops in Russia. Austin warned that their potential involvement in the Ukraine conflict would be "very, very serious."
White House spokesperson John Kirby further added to the discourse, stating that the U.S. believes at least 3,000 North Korean troops are undergoing training in Russia. Kirby warned that if these troops were deployed against Ukraine, they would be "fair game."
South Korea's intelligence service has been instrumental in shedding light on this issue. Last week, they released satellite images that seemingly depicted North Korean troops at a training ground in Russia's Far East. The agency also claimed to have used artificial intelligence facial-recognition technology to confirm the sighting of a North Korean soldier in Ukraine.
The South Korean intelligence agency estimates that Pyongyang will dispatch as many as 12,000 personnel, including special operations forces, most of whom will have arrived in Russia by December. Ukraine's military intelligence agency has separately claimed that a group of North Korean soldiers has been dispatched to the Russian border region Kursk, where Ukraine has been conducting an incursion.
North Korea has previously dismissed these allegations as "groundless, stereotype rumors." If North Korean troops were to engage in combat in Ukraine, it would mark the first foreign war in the country's history.
North Korea has remained one of Russia's few international allies following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continually supplying Russia with critical weapons to replenish its dwindling supplies.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has voiced his government's concern over these developments. He warned that South Korea "won't sit idle" if its neighbor is sending troops to Russia, hinting at a potential review of the country's longstanding policy of not supplying lethal weapons to countries engaged in conflict.
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