INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday that thousands of North Korean troops currently stationed in Russia are expected
to enter combat against Ukraine "soon."Speaking during a visit to Fiji, Austin said around 10,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to be
they've been trained on, the way they've been integrated into the Russian formations, I fully expect to see them engaged in combat soon,"
Austin told reporters.He added that there has not yet been "significant reporting" of North Korean troops actively fighting.South Korean
officials and a research group said Thursday that Russia provided North Korea with oil, anti-air missiles and economic assistance in
exchange for troops, a claim both Washington and Seoul have backed.Ukraine has warned that Russia, bolstered by North Korean soldiers, has
amassed a 50,000-strong force to retake parts of the border region captured by Ukrainian forces.Ukrainian troops seized swaths of Kursk in a
surprise offensive in August, even as their forces remained heavily stretched in the Donetsk region, which has been the focal point of
nearly three years of fighting.
