Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide echoed that assessment, citing US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the source of the information.
On Friday, South Korea's intelligence agency said that North Korea sent 1,500 special forces soldiers to Russia in early October to support its military operations.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his administration has intelligence indicating that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to join Russian invasion forces.
When asked about this at a press conference on Wednesday, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that North Korean troops have not yet reached the front lines in Ukraine and are currently located in the Far East.
He expressed hope that South Korea would "draw conclusions from this and want to increase its assistance to Ukraine."
Warsaw, October 23, 2024. Polish FM Radosław Sikorski (C) and Norwegian FM Espen Barth Eide (L). On the right is the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paweł Wroński (photo: PAP/Albert Zawada)
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who visited Warsaw on Wednesday and met with Sikorski, supported these statements. Eide said: "We have just received confirmation from ... the Pentagon that their analyses also confirm that there are currently no North Korean units at the front."
Current information suggests that these troops are still in eastern Russia. Eide added: "If Russia needs to call on North Korean soldiers for help, that says a lot about its condition."
Source: PAP/MSZ
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