Alarming footage shows groups of Russians with selfie sticks taking photos and beaming with North Korean troops just hours after US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said they sent troops to Russia
Suspected North Korean troops pose for photos in Russia
This is the bizarre moment suspected North Korean troops happily pose for photos with Russians as thousands join the frontline to fight for Vladimir Putin.
The footage shows Russians with selfie sticks taking group photos and beaming with North Korean troops just hours after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said there is evidence that DPRK has sent troops to Russia. He called it a “very, very serious issue” if they joined the war in Ukraine on Moscow’s side and warned of possible consequences.
South Korea’s spy chief told lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops are now in Russia receiving training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to battlefields in Ukraine. The US had not previously formally confirmed North Korea’s reported troop dispatch.
“We are seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops” that have gone to Russia, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters during a visit to Rome. “What exactly they’re doing — left to be seen.”
He added: “If they’re co-belligerents, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue, and it will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific.” He called it a “next step” after the North has provided Russia with arms, and said Pyongyang could face consequences for aiding Russia directly. He did not provide details, saying analysts were assessing the situation.
South Korean intelligence first publicised reports that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia this month, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian forces.
Russia and North Korea have denied the troop movements. They have sharply boosted their cooperation in the past two years, and in June they signed a major defense deal requiring both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.
South Korean officials worry that Russia may reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated weapons technologies that could boost its nuclear and missile programs that target South Korea. South Korea said Tuesday it would consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to the reported troop dispatch.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday said North Korea sending troops to Ukraine would mark a “significant escalation,” and said he asked South Korea’s president to send experts to Brussels next week to brief the military alliance.
On Wednesday, South Korean National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong told lawmakers that another 1,500 North Korean troops have entered Russia, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended Cho’s closed-door briefing. Cho told lawmakers his agency assessed that North Korea aims to deploy a total of 10,000 troops to Russia by December, Park told reporters.
