Pentagon chief cannot confirm reports of North Korea sending soldiers to join Russia's war against Ukraine

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that he could not confirm reports indicating that North Korea had sent troops to Russia to join the war against Ukraine. Source: Austin at a press conference in Naples on Saturday, as reported by European Pravda Details: "I've seen those reports in the media.

I can't confirm those reports at this point in time.

This is something that we will certainly continue to investigate," the Pentagon chief said.

Austin stressed that such a move would be concerning if confirmed.

Background: 

• On Friday, South Korean intelligence reported that Pyongyang had sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia's Far East for training and acclimatisation at local military bases and that they would likely be deployed to fight against Ukraine.
• On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused North Korea of preparing to send 10,000 troops to help Moscow.
• However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this week that there is no evidence to support this claim at the moment.
• Estonian intelligence believes that the participation of North Korean soldiers in the war on Moscow's side will not change the situation on the battlefield.
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that if the participation of the North Korean military on the side of the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine was confirmed, it would demonstrate the Kremlin's "level of desperation".

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