U.S. Cites Indications North Korean Soldiers Died Fighting for Russia

The Pentagon has seen “indications” that the North Korean forces who have been sent to Russia to help the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine have suffered their first casualties, according to a U.S.official.Air Force Maj.

Gen.Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters on Monday that the North Koreans had entered combat last week in the Russian region of Kursk, where Russia has been trying to recapture territory that Ukraine seized in a surprise cross-border offensive starting in August.“We do assess that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk,” General Ryder said.

“We do have indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded.”On Monday, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said at least 30 North Korean soldiers had been killed or injured along the front line in Kursk over the weekend, in the Russian villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka.The claims could not be independently verified.The entry of North Korea into the war in Ukraine has marked a serious escalation in the conflict, one with consequences for Asia and the West.The decision by President Biden a month ago to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles against certain military targets in Russia was in response to Russia’s decision to bring North Korean troops into the war, U.S.

officials said.In June, President Vladimir V.Putin of Russia and Kim Jung-un, North Korea’s leader, revived a mutual defense pledge, deepening ties that stretch beyond the Cold War.Ukraine and South Korea first warned about the movement of North Korean troops to Russia in mid-October.

In early November, General Ryder said that at least 10,000 North Korean troops had traveled thousands of miles from eastern Russia to the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.While there have been daily rumors about the North Koreans — about what they are eating, where they are and how they are communicating with Russians — this was the first official confirmation by th...