[ti:US: North Korea Has Sent Troops to Russia]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-10-24]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]The United States said on Wednesday that it had seen evidence of North Korean troops in Russia. 
[00:08.59]And South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers that about 3,000 soldiers had been sent to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
[00:21.74]Speaking in Rome, Italy, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "There is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia." 
[00:34.78]DPRK is short for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
[00:44.46]Austin said it would be "very, very serious" if the North Koreans were preparing to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, as Ukraine's government has claimed.
[00:58.65]However, the defense chief added that it remained to be seen what the North Korean soldiers are doing in Russia.
[01:10.02]South Korean intelligence first reported that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia last week.
[01:23.80]And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government had intelligence information saying that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to join the invading Russian forces.
[01:41.75]South Korean lawmakers then said that intelligence chief Cho Tae-yong told them another 1,500 had entered Russia, with thousands more expected to follow.
[01:57.59]Park Sun-won, a member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, 
[02:04.10]said after the briefing that troops seem to have gone to several training centers in Russia.
[02:11.78]They are "adapting to the local environment," Park added.
[02:16.71]South Korean intelligence officials also said that North Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other weapons to Russia since August 2023.
[02:34.14]The Ukraine conflict broke out when Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
[02:42.64]The war has largely been fought along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, with huge numbers of casualties on both sides.
[02:54.13]Austin said the North Korean deployment could be additional evidence that the Russian military was having problems with manpower.
[03:05.88]In the past, Russia has dismissed South Korea's claims about the North's troop deployment, calling it "fake news." 
[03:16.35]And a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called the claims "groundless rumors" at a meeting on Monday.
[03:29.81]Both countries have also denied weapons transfers.
[03:34.17]But the two countries have agreed to increase military ties.
[03:39.61]And they signed a mutual defense treaty at a meeting in June.
[03:45.49]Lee Seong-kweun, another South Korean lawmaker, said intelligence officials confirmed that Russia had recruited a "large number" of interpreters for the North Korean soldiers.
[04:01.85]The Russians are also training the North Korean soldiers in the use of modern military weapons, such as drones.
[04:13.03]North Korea has 1.2 million troops - one of the largest standing armies in the world. 
[04:21.26]But it has not fought in large conflicts since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
[04:29.90]Many experts question how much North Korean troops would help Russia, noting a shortage of battle experience. 
[04:39.48]They say North Korea wants to get Russian economic support and wants its help to modernize the North's weapons systems.
[04:49.62]On Tuesday, South Korea's presidential office urged an immediate withdrawal of the North's troops from Russia. 
[05:00.03]South Korean officials warned that it may consider supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine if military ties between Russia and North Korea went too far.
[05:13.53]I'm Ashley Thompson.