Further 1,500 soldiers are believed to have been sent to Russia, said South Korean parliamentarian Park Sun-Won on Wednesday.
The information about the North Korean reinforcements was confirmed by US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin to reporters in Rome, Italy's capital. A high-ranking source in the US Defense Department said that they do not know if the forces are to be sent to Ukraine.
Even the military alliance NATO says it can confirm that North Korean forces are in Russia, and warns in a statement of an international escalation.
Significant losses
"If these forces are deployed to Ukraine, it would mean a significant escalation of North Korea's support for Russia's illegal war – and another sign of Russia's significant losses at the front", said NATO's spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah in a written statement.
According to South Korea's intelligence service NIS, a further 1,500 soldiers have arrived in Russia, which means that a total of 3,000 soldiers from North Korea's special forces are in Russia.
Ten thousand soldiers
According to South Korea's intelligence service NIS, North Korea plans to send a total of 10,000–12,000 soldiers to Russia by December.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj previously stated that his government had received information that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join the Russian forces.
North Korea and Russia have significantly strengthened their cooperation over the past two years.
