North Korean troops are already in Russia : US Defense Secretary Austin

The U.S. has evidence that North Korean troops are in Russia, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday.

“What exactly they’re doing” remains to be seen, Austin told journalists while in Rome. “These are things that we need to sort out.”

Ukraine and South Korea have said North Korean soldiers traveled to Russia for training ahead of planned deployment to fight on battlefields in eastern Ukraine and western Russia.

Austin said Wednesday that the U.S. would “continue to pull this thread” to establish whether Pyongyang can be considered a co-belligerent in the conflict.

“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 as well,” Austin warned.