As someone once said, this is a big freakin’ deal. On Monday, the United States Department of Defense announced that 11,000 North Korean troops, presumably having finished their training on Russian weapons, systems, and tactics, may have moved into the Kursk area, where Russian and Ukrainian troops are currently engaged in fighting.
It is likely that about 11,000 North Korean troops have moved into Russia’s Kursk region, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, who spoke to the media today.
The Pentagon has not confirmed that these troops have engaged in combat with Ukrainian troops who are inside a portion of the Kursk region, she said, adding, “They’re moving into Kursk for a reason. We have every expectation that they would be engaged in combat operations.”
There is no evidence that more North Korean troops are entering Russia, but that could change, Singh said.
The U.S. views North Korea as cobelligerents with Russia, she said. North Korean troops began entering Russia last month.
As RedState’s own Jim Thompson wrote on Friday, these North Korean troops may never be able to return to the Hermit Kingdom without facing a life sentence in a work camp.
See Related: North Koreans Who Survive Combat in Ukraine Will End Up in Gulags Because: They’ve Seen Too Much
Jim writes:
The logic seems brutal but obvious. Returning soldiers would see “the good life.” Culture that they have been told does not exist. Perhaps they might be exposed to Ukrainians or Russians who disabuse them of communist lies. That cannot be tolerated by the Hermit King.
That’s a harsh life sentence if they return, and a harsh life sentence for their families if they don’t, most likely. But there is one other possibility; any North Korean troops that do come out of this with real-life combat experience and do return to North Korea will be the first Nork soldiers with real combined arms and large-scale combat experience since the Korean War. These troops could be valuable as a training cadre for any future North Korean operations — say, against South Korea.
The Spanish Civil War, we might note, served a very similar role in providing both German and Soviet troops with real-world combat experience.
The statement by DoD notes that there is as yet no confirmation that the North Korean troops have entered into combat operations against Ukrainian forces, but there’s literally no other reason to move them into the Kursk region. While their most likely fate will be “cannon fodder,” 11,000 fresh troops could make a difference for a while; but it’s important to note that the DoD estimates Russia is losing 1,200 troops a day in the conflict, meaning that any numerical advantage provided by this influx will be eliminated in less than ten days.
As of this writing, it is unknown whether North Korea will be sending any further troops north to serve as more grist for the Russian mill.
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This is a developing story. Stay tuned; we will be bringing you updates as events warrant.
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