North Korean troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine ‘fair game,’ U.S. warns Putin

Some 12,000 North Korean troops will be sent to Russia, a key United States ally said Thursday, vowing it “will not stand by and do nothing” in the face of this significant “provocation.”

The new estimate, shared with NBC News by South Korea’s defense ministry, comes after the United States joined Seoul and Kyiv in confirming the development and said any troops deployed against Ukraine will be “fair game.” 

Pyongyang is expected to augment Russia’s military with its own sizable contingent of special forces, military engineers, and artillery troops, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun reported to lawmakers Thursday, his office told NBC News. The total number is expected to reach 12,000, he said, with 3,000 deployed already.

That matches Washington’s assessment.

“They’re fair game” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, saying that the U.S. believes at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers have already arrived in eastern Russia by sea. The soldiers moved earlier this month and are receiving training at multiple Russian military bases, Kirby said. 

“They’re fair targets and the Ukrainian military will defend themselves against North Korean soldiers the same way they’re defending themselves against Russian soldiers,” he said. “There could be dead and wounded North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine.”