US warns against North Korea sending troops to Ukraine to support Russia

The United States warned that it would be dangerous and highly worrisome if North Korea sends troops into Ukraine. The alert came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Pyongyang of preparing to send 10,000 troops to Russia.

"These troops are expected to be ready for war against Ukraine by November 1," Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told the Security Council on Monday in remarks picked up by Reuters.

In that regard, the United States began consulting its allies on the consequences of a "dramatic" decision being made.

"We are consulting with our allies and partners on the implications of such a dramatic move," U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N., Robert Wood, explained to the 15-member United Nations Security Council.

Similarly, South Korea's espionage agency reportedly revealed that North Korea sent 1,500 special forces troops to eastern Russia for training and acclimation at military bases, and that they are likely to be deployed to fight in Ukraine.

"If true, this marks a dangerous and highly concerning development and an obvious deepening of the DPRK, Russia military relationship," Robert Wood said of the reports.

Meanwhile Barbara Woodward, Britain's ambassador to the U.N., noted that it is very likely that North Korea was sending troops.

"It seems that the harder [Russian President Vladimir] Putin finds it to recruit Russians to be cannon fodder, the more willing he is to rely on DPRK in his illegal war. ... We can be certain that the DPRK leadership will ask a high price from Russia in return," Woodward said.

Finally, South Korea also warned about the impact of the possible contribution of troops.

"North Korea will expect a generous payoff from Moscow in return for its troop contribution. It could be either military or financial assistance. It could be nuclear weapons-related technology," South Korea's ambassador to the U.N., Joonkook Hwang, mentioned.