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North Korea Troops in Russia Key Topic 10/31 06:03

   The deployment of up to 12,000 North Korean troops to Russia has become a 
key topic as U.S. and South Korean leaders meet in Washington this week, 
fueling concerns that the presence of those soldiers will further destabilize 
the Asia-Pacific and broaden Moscow's war on Ukraine.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The deployment of up to 12,000 North Korean troops to 
Russia has become a key topic as U.S. and South Korean leaders meet in 
Washington this week, fueling concerns that the presence of those soldiers will 
further destabilize the Asia-Pacific and broaden Moscow's war on Ukraine.

   As some of those troops moved closer to Ukraine this week from training 
sites in eastern Russia, the main questions revolve around what new military 
technologies North Korea might get from Russia in exchange for the deployment 
and whether it might lead other nations to send their own forces to fight in 
the war.

   The discussions now move to the State Department, where Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will hold talks Thursday with 
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

   Meantime, North Korea on Thursday test-fired an intercontinental ballistic 
missile for the first time in almost a year, demonstrating a potential 
advancement in its ability to launch long-range nuclear attacks on the mainland 
U.S. Some experts speculated that Russia may have provided technological 
assistance to North Korea over the launch.

   At a Pentagon news conference Wednesday, Austin said North Korean troops 
wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment were advancing toward 
Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Speaking 
alongside Kim, Austin said officials are discussing what to do about the North 
Korean deployment, which he acknowledged could "encourage others to take 
action." He provided no details.

   The United States. and South Korea say some of the North Korean troops are 
heading to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where the 
Kremlin's forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion. Some North 
Korean advance units have arrived there, and Austin said "the likelihood is 
pretty high" that Russia will use them in combat.

   North Korea's move to tighten its relationship with Russia has triggered 
alarms across the globe as leaders worry about how that may expand the war and 
what Russian military aid will be delivered in exchange.

   Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said at an 
emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that as many as 
4,500 North Korean troops are expected to be at the border this week and to 
begin directly participating in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in 
November.

   Kim said he does not necessarily believe the deployment will trigger war on 
the Korean Peninsula, but it could increase security threats.

   There is a "high possibility" that North Korea would ask for advanced 
technologies from Russia in exchange for its troops, such as receiving tactical 
nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, he said through an interpreter.

   Russia has had to shift some resources to the Kursk border region to respond 
to Ukraine's offensive.

   "They're doing this because (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has lost a 
lot of troops," Austin said, adding that Moscow has a choice between mobilizing 
more of its own forces or turning to others for help.

   The U.S. has estimated there are about 10,000 North Korean troops now in 
Russia. Seoul and its allies assess that the number dispatched to Russia has 
increased to 11,000, according to a senior South Korean presidential official, 
who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing. Ukraine has 
put the figure higher, at up to 12,000.

   A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that North Korean troops are 
stationed 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia. The 
official, who was not authorized to disclose the information publicly and spoke 
on condition of anonymity, did not provide any additional detail.

   North Korea also has provided munitions to Russia, and earlier this month, 
the White House released images it said were of North Korea shipping 1,000 
containers of military equipment there by rail.

 
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