Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says North Korea has sent troops to Russia. The U.S. is now trying to determine whether the North Koreans will be heading on to Ukraine to take part in the war there.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The U.S. says North Korea has sent several thousand troops to Russia, and they may eventually go on to Ukraine to take part in the war there. This U.S. confirmation comes after Ukraine has been talking about such a development for days. For more, we’re joined now by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Hi, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hi. OK, so what exactly do we know about these North Korean troops at this point?
MYRE: So for the past week or so, Ukraine and South Korea have both been saying that these North Korean troops had arrived in Russia, they were getting training, and the intention is eventually to have them fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. The U.S. had been noncommittal, saying only that it was checking on this.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine on Monday. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pledged more U.S. military aid. Still, he didn’t comment directly on this issue of North Korean troops until he spoke in Rome today, saying the U.S. now has evidence that they have arrived in Russia. And referring to these troops, he said, quote, “if their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, this is a very, very serious issue,” but he said the U.S. hasn’t made that determination at this point.
CHANG: OK. And exactly how many troops are we talking about here? Like, would there be enough to make a difference in this war, you think?
MYRE: Yeah, so at the White House today, spokesman John Kirby said about 3,000 North Korean troops arrived in Russia’s far east port city of Vladivostok and have been undergoing training in that area. Now, South Korea’s intelligence chief said the number is expected to reach 10,000 by December. And meanwhile, Russia and North Korea are both denying these reports, saying none of this has happened. And, you know, even if these numbers are roughly accurate, Ailsa, it’s not clear that, say, 10,000 or so North Korean soldiers would make a significant difference in the war in Ukraine, where both sides have hundreds of thousands of troops.
You know, also, these North Koreans don’t have combat experience. They’ll be working with a military they don’t know – the Russians – and would be fighting on terrain that they’re just not familiar with.
CHANG: Right. OK, so why would Russia want or even need these troops, then?
MYRE: Yeah. Lloyd Austin said that if Russian leader Vladimir Putin has reached out to North Korea because he has troop shortages, this would be, quote, “an indication that he may be even in more trouble than most people realize.” Russia sends large numbers of its own troops into Ukraine. They’ve been suffering massive casualties. They fight sort of going head-on toward the Ukrainians in many cases. And military analysts have long said Putin doesn’t want a large-scale military mobilization, on the prospect that this would be hugely unpopular.
Now, we know Russia is going to great lengths to get more troops. They’re paying large bonuses to get young men to sign up. They offer prisoners the option of fighting for six months and then winning their freedom if they survive. So we’ll have to see if that’s indeed what’s going on here.
CHANG: That said, Russia’s already getting help from several other countries, right?
MYRE: Yeah. They buy large quantities of artillery from North Korea. Iran supplies them with – Russia with drones. China is providing technology, though not actual weapons. Still, it’s one thing to get military or financial aid, quite another to bring in foreign soldiers. We don’t know what North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is thinking, but he may well be seeking something from Russia in return – cash, technology, weapons that Russia has and he doesn’t.
CHANG: That is NPR’s Greg Myre. Thank you so much, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Ailsa.
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